Organ Jaws
by SKOOLATOON
Summary: While at one of Reimu's quieter "shrine parties", Reisen retells the story of how she left the moon.
1. Lunaria

Reisen Inaba was seated, polishing the metal of her weapon. She'd just finished disassembling and reassembling it, and was putting the finishing touches on the outside polish.

It was no rifle, no pistol; nothing so simple. This was a shoulder-mounted multi-purpose gun, parts bazooka, parts machinegun, parts mortar, and all metal.

It was also one of Reisen's oldest custom weapons.

"Al~most done." She smiled down at the gun, fitting a side plate back into place.

She was inside the Hakurei Shrine, and it was drinking night. Kind of. As it turned out, Reimu wasn't so much in the mood to drink, this evening.

Lukewarm, half-empty sake cups sat around the various kotatsus arranged in the main room of the shrine. The lights were dim; Reisen had brought some modern lamps and hooked them up to a tiny portable generator.

Reimu didn't complain, mesmerized by the dim, warm orange lights.

"You know…" Youmu was seated to the left of Reisen, staring at the complicated metal machine curiously. "What's the appeal, of guns?"

Reisen snorted. "What? ...In what sense?"

"Like—..." Youmu supposed she _should_ clarify. "You seem really fascinated, with guns. I wonder why you don't just view them as tools."

Reisen wouldn't say the same of swords, even if she didn't see them as anything more than what they were. "...Well, why uh… why aren't swords just long knives?"

Youmu instantly got offended. "Wh— because—... well, they're _not._ There's a lot of skill that goes into wielding a sword. It's not as simple as 'blade meets skin'."

"Guns aren't as simple as 'bullet meets skin', either." Reisen smirked at her.

"You _do_ have to aim, I guess." Youmu confessed. "But—"

"It's about reflexes." Reisen spoke over her. "It's about combining your knowledge of war and weapons with your reflexes, maintaining accuracy and efficiency, and taking out your enemy. It might not be as graceful as dedication to the sword, but it's—... it's a passion of mine. I'm just _interested_ in how different weapons work, their uses, and in part, their unique spectacles."

"...Huh." Youmu couldn't really argue with that. "The art of war is also useful, with the sword. But—... I enjoy the concision, too. I view it as discipline that surpasses pragmatism. Reflexes are still important, but I stay true to the blade, and prefer performing _by_ the blade."

"I might enjoy a little romanticism, but I could never be married to one weapon, like you are with blades." Reisen looked down at the ignored sake glasses nearby.

"It's not as plain artsy as you think." Youmu really wanted to justify her passion to Reisen. "I've not just had to raise Roukanken. I've used bokken, I've trained with greatswords… even stupid things like big sticks and guitars. It's a familiarity with a particular, ancient and martial discipline. It might not be as singularly useful in war as your learning, but… I'd rather the beauty. I don't believe I'll ever have to live through your life, or truly fight in war, after all."

...Reisen nodded, smiling. "Fair enough."

Her gaze returned to the warm lamp lights set up around the shrine. It was such a warm, comfy spring evening.

Reisen saw Reimu and Marisa gazing idly at them.

"You guys are huge nerds." Marisa stated plainly, smiling warmly.

"Both guns and swords are stupid." Reimu said the most polarizing thing of all. "Why would you even bother, when magic's a thing?"

"Reimu, sometimes, I don't know about you." Youmu shook her head…

"I'm gonna snipe you." Reisen decided.

Reimu grinned. "Okay, sniping's kinda strong I guess… and, kinda cowardly. But—"

Reisen smiled. "Cowardice wouldn't matter if your enemy was dead."

But, Youmu disagreed. "...I'd rather face my enemy head-on, no matter what. I suppose that's where the modern art of war and the dedication to the blade deviate..."

"Yeah." Reisen agreed. "On the outside, that sort of thinking would leave you dead in seconds flat. Then again, war on the outside is… anything but graceful."

Sanae sauntered into the shrine, from outside. "I can't believe you gu~ys. It's so cool-looking outside, and you just wanna sit in here polishing weapons and looking at these dingy lamps?"

"Hey," Reimu looked slightly offended. "Lamps… are cool."

...Sanae shook off how endearing Reimu's simple assertion was. "Well— anyway…" She met Reisen's gaze.

Reisen spoke when their eyes met. "Sanae. You're from the outside, yeah? Do you know a lot about the new guns they got out there?"

"No." Sanae grinned. "I was never one of those school shooter types."

Reisen double-took. "Bh— being interested in guns doesn't make you a school shooter."

Putting her arms on her hips, Sanae doubled down on her teasing. "From how you just sit around broodingly whenever we have a girl's night, you coulda had me fooled! You always got this intense look on your face."

...Reisen supposed she wasn't wrong. "Aa— I'm not _that_ bad at hiding it, I'm sure."

...She looked at the other girls for confirmation.

"You are." Reimu stated plainly, before sipping some of her sake.

"Well— kinda— yeah, ya are." Marisa beamed widely at her. "When I first met ya, I didn't even know why ya hung around…!"

...Finally, Reisen looked at Youmu.

Youmu shrugged, looking sheepish. "I— I mean—... I'm kinda self-conscious and stuff, so I wasn't paying attention that much. But, you _were_ really quiet."

"Come to think of it," Reimu pointed at Youmu. "I don't know why _you_ came by, either. After every incident, it's like you all turned my shrine into a—..."

Sanae finished the analogy for her. "An after-school activity!"

"I was gonna say club, or something." Reimu gazed up at her tiredly. "But, yeah."

...Youmu tilted her head, looking oddly gentle. "I dunno. You guys are cool."

Reisen was sent here to socialize on her master's command initially, but that directive was only for a few days. Every so often after that, Reisen came here on her own, since everyone here was fairly nice, and it was becoming a tradition.

'_Surely, it's the same for Youmu.'_ Reisen suspected. '_I don't know if it's a political ploy by our masters… but it doesn't really matter, in the end.'_

"Here, Reimu." Marisa held her arm out. "Have a hat."

_fwish!_ Marisa shot a little white sunhat from her hand, and it plopped onto Reimu's head gently, over her bow.

It was a little too big, so Reimu sank down a little, like a cat to cloth. "Wh—..."

...Sanae began to beam, staring down at Reimu. "Oh my god, Reimu. You're adorable."

"Aa— am I?" Reimu looked uncomfortable.

"So!" Sanae pivoted around, looking down at Reisen again. "Why're you so intense-looking? I wanna find out!"

"...I— I mean, it's not for any _specific reason._" Reisen clarified. "It's not like I have a tragic backstory, or anything. I mean, I've kinda lived a life of work and tedium, but it's gotten better. I expect that you've all had similar struggles."

...The others girls mostly all looked idle about this.

Reisen began to open discussions further. "I spent a lot of my life under a crappy oppressive lunar regime, where individual members of the lower social classes were just ants, basically. Really sucked since we were all _still people._"

"Outside life sucks." Sanae stated without hesitation. "Everyone out there was really mean, and I thought I was gonna die. There was really little interesting to do, and I was scared of wasting away my days doing nothing but giving back to a world I hated."

'_...That's pretty jarring, coming from Sanae of all people.'_

In the quiet, Marisa piped up. "I ran away from home ta join the circus! ...Well, I uh, actually ended up gettin' real mad at my pa, and the village, and ended up gettin' tutored by a ghost in an alternate demon realm. Wasn't a totally bad deal, but uh… yeah."

"My mom died when I was a kid." Reimu spoke in monotone. "I ended up getting lost in Makai and stuff too, until I wasn't. I kinda miss her."

Sakuya was there, all of a sudden, with a new bottle; this one of wine. Her entrance was quiet, and her act of sitting down even moreso. '_What about her…?'_

...Everyone centered their gazes on Youmu.

Youmu was sheepish. "...I, um, had to study the sword _really hard._ And my master was kinda rough, I guess… but, not too much."

"Youmu is a pure soul." Sanae decided. "We have to protect her, guys!"

"You have any parents?" Reimu wondered.

"Aren't ya in like, the 'Konpaku Clan'? Where's the rest a' the clan?" Marisa also wondered.

"We— well…" Youmu shrank in her seat. "I don't know anything about any parents. And, I guess the rest of the clan is gone? I don't _know._"

"How mysterious…" Sanae plopped down on the ground, next to Youmu. "Unh! We're— gonna get to the bottom of it!"

"I don't think so." Youmu shook her head…

...Then, awkwardly, no one said anything.

Reimu gingerly yawned under the warm lights. She turned— and saw Sakuya at her kotatsu, and furrowed her brows.

When Sakuya poured her some wine, Reimu unfurrowed her brows, saying nothing.

"Well." Reisen rested her hands on her shoulder-mountable, multi-purpose gun, which was still lying on the kotatsu. "Who wants to hear a story?"

Sanae perked up. "Ooh. Is it gonna be on that lunar regime thingy!?"

"Sure." Reisen never really connected with so many other people like this before. While she had friends throughout her life, this connection was especially casual, but also meaningful.

'_Might as well see where this goes.'_

"I _do_ wanna know how life on the moon works!" Marisa scooted away from her and Reimu's kotatsu, and got closer. "An' this'll be a first from _you!_ I'm sure yer bored to death of me an' Reimu's stories by now, ze."

Admittedly, she knew more about Marisa and Reimu than their parents probably did, by this point. The same could be said for Sanae and Youmu roughly, as well.

Smiling, Reisen moved to pull the multi-purpose gun off her kotatsu. "Nnh. Alright…"

_Thud._ It made the room's floor shake a little, when she sat it aside herself.

Then, Reisen took a breath, and spoke.

"It's not really what I'd call a traditional Japanese legend. It's nothing so elegant, as the tale of the bamboo cutter. That was elegant 'cause it provoked thinking in more ways than one. It left a lot vague, but dealt with mythological phenomena, and some things you could call morals. It was simple, had simple morals, and spoke of beauty; the beauty of that time in Japan.

"Which is not to say, it focused on that beauty. The beauty shone through the work itself, as a brief snippet of fantasy and mythology.

"Lady Kaguya would say it was a tale of her beauty… but, it wasn't her story, by a longshot. It was a tale of Japan."

...Since everyone seemed to be listening, Reisen shifted where she sat, and continued, her gaze flicking between each person.

"This isn't a story like that." Reisen prefaced. "I don't know if there's any morals to be found. It's not gonna be as mysterious, 'cause it's gonna be answering questions, more like. It won't emphasize fantasy; at least, not for myself, 'cause it's my reality. This won't be about Japan, or the moon, or master, or Lady Kaguya."

"This is my story."

Reisen's red eyes widened, then flashed.

**Organ Jaws**

She stepped down the stone path of the lunar capital's main walkway.

This was the capital sector, the heart of the moon and by far, the nicest looking place imaginable there, bar a few entertainment-oriented sectors, perhaps.

She'd just finished leading the year's first training session earlier this day, and now the capital soldiers had free practice, which she wasn't needed for.

"Huu~." Reisen exhaled, gazing at the blue sky above.

'_I just got promoted here, and everything. But…'_ She still felt mildly bored. '_Thought things would really spice up. But, the capital guard is even more lazy than all the sector defense squads. Feels like any other entertainment sector's day one problem.'_

'_If I truly wanted to be part of something really serious, I'd have joined the riot squads.'_ While Reisen was a part of offense-based units before, it's not like the moon was actually fighting anybody, or would be for some time.

The bigger challenge rested on the shoulders of the dedicated anti-riot squads: bunnies who had to fight rebels across the moon, who were displeased with life in the industrial sectors. '_Those bunnies, while quite strong, have a damn hard time. Maybe one day I'll give them a shot, if I'm not some officer by then.'_

Stepping along under the cherry blossoms, Reisen gave them an idle stare.

"Oh. There you are."

Watatsuki no Yorihime stepped up to her. She'd come from the lunar capital, hands on her blade's sheath at her waist. "Practice take longer than usual? How are the soldiers?"

'_They're using long-outdated polearms, and only a fraction of their potential skills, but good.'_

"As good as usual." Reisen stood tall, head leaning back for a moment to search the sky. Then, she gazed across Yorihime again.

Yorihime had long, pastel purple hair done up in a fluffy ponytail. Her dress was simple, the top being white and the bottom being red. "...Tell me more. Were they proficient in hand-to-hand? How about their counter-polearm arts?"

"Top class." Reisen sort of fibbed. "Their polearms are quite adaptable, too."

'_In theory, those polearms would be very powerful against any projectile. It's just, their techniques can only defend against light ballistics, which are far and beyond a thing of the past. You throw them up against a tank, or even infantry with light plasma, and they'll get shot, plain and simple.'_

"As I thought." Yorihime smiled. "We're the pride of the moon, after all. I was excited, to see what you thought of how I'd raised them. From today forward, I may even leave them in your care. I believe you've earned it."

To Reisen, this career progression felt superficial and fully formal, so she smiled a little at Yorihime's misconceptual pride.

"Have I?" Reisen asked casually.

"Quite." Yorihime gave her a big nod. "You are trustworthy, brilliant and a master of war. I'd have no one less than you and me lead Lunaria's finest."

'_If you want our finest, you should look at the assault divisions. Pretty sure the lower class bunnies actually die in training, sometimes.'_ Of course, no one talked about the actual meat of the military system, here. Reisen was somewhat afraid to even bring it up.

"Truly, the finest." Reisen lied. "Your warriors here are truly bred from valor." She wasn't sure what the meaning of what she just said was, but she thought it sounded nice.

Yorihime's smile widened. "Of course. Of course."

The bright, sunny day shined down on the moon's gentle, grassy plains.

"Anyway." Yorihime moved away from the capitol building. "Let's go home, Reisen. I'm sure sister is waiting for us."

"Sure."

Reisen had lived with the royal sisters for much of her life. When she was younger, she was adopted on essentially impulse by the two, which was ultimately a huge stroke of luck.

'_They're alright people, if… quite, quite naive. I'm not sure if they totally know how the moon works. I used to look up to them for knowledge, but recently, I've found myself looking down at them.'_

\= Lunaria =/

It was later that evening, at the Watatsuki household; the Moon Palace.

Reisen sat in her suit, as the setting sun cast her room in gold light and fading warmth. She was in the chair before her computer, somewhat pensive.

'_What do I do?'_ She looked back from it, at the room's side.

There was a blue metal crate below the bright window. Atop this crate lied swords, rapiers and polearms, but inside were guns. Only Reisen could open it, even if technically the Watatsukis could force it open. They respected her privacy, however.

Aside her computer desk was a workbench, lined with tools, some conventional and some laserwave-based.

_Knock, knock._ Someone was at the door.

"He~y, Reise~n." It was Toyohime, one of her lunarian masters. "Don't just shut yourself away. Tell me how your first day went!"

'_Ah. Fine.'_

Getting up, Reisen plainly approached her front door, and swung it open.

Toyohime smiled up at her. Her hair was long, sandy blonde, and her eyes were gold.

"You got so _tall._" Toyohime began to lean around Reisen's form. "So tall!"

"...Yeah." Reisen admitted. "Today was good."

Toyohime snorted. "Awh. Tell me mo~re."

Whatever Toyohime wanted, she got it, somehow. Reisen continued. "...We did startup orientation exercises for awhile. I checked melee, ranged and specific weapon proficiency. Everyone was… up to par."

'_Left unsaid: the standards here in the capital sector are the loosest of any sector. Not sure why Yorihime insists on paper rubrics and handwritten reports. This whole sector feels like a time capsule.'_

"How do you like this place?" Toyohime stepped into Reisen's room. She scanned the crate of weapons, the bed, the mini-fridge and the two desks with curiosity. "A lot nicer than the industrial sectors, isn't it?"

When they'd sent Reisen to train in leadership by working up the ranks at various sectors, Reisen had gotten a view of almost all the moon had to offer.

She had to admit: all the greenery was nice, and the cultural vibe here in the capital was a powerful difference. People smiled, stopped to breathe the air and smell the flowers, and were talkative. Provided, most of the population here were either lunarians, or specifically prestigious breeds of lunar rabbit.

"Yeah." Reisen admitted. "Not sure how you did it."

"Hmm?" Toyohime paused, looking down at the computer idly. "What do you mean?"

"...Ah. Nothing." Reisen had the compulsion not to say anything.

All around the room, were mementos of Reisen's travels.

A lunar calendar sat on the wall, with pictures of good looking bunny men. She'd bought this from entertainment sector L-16, some years ago, and never decided to toss it out. She'd just flip the pages to the corresponding month to pretend, but she had her computer for the _actual_ recent date.

The blue crate in the back of the room was from the industrial sector, and she's been slowly filling it up with weapons that interested her since she bought it all those years ago.

'_...All these cheap swords and polearms I got were just to make sure Yorihime didn't freak out. She always wanted me to use a katana.'_

"Wo~w." Toyohime looked over the weapons crate. "You really got into some cool stuff! I bet sis is really proud."

'_The whole reason she sent me on this trip, was so that I'd develop a hatred of guns and modernity. Instead, I've developed a—... not a hatred. An 'unappreciation' for the culture and the beauty in the capital. And, knowing these two sisters, they could fix everything. Why don't they?'_

"Oh. I quite am."

Yorihime sauntered into the room next. "Good evening, Reisen. Good evening, sister."

"Sis!" Toyohime beamed back at her. "Reisen has a lotta cool swords and stuff!"

"I can see that." Yorihime smirked. "How many times do you practice a day with these, Reisen?"

'_...How would I have had the time?'_

"Many times." Reisen gave a bad answer.

...Yorihime looked like she could feel how lame that answer was. "Is that so."

"Hey…" Toyohime held up a katana from the crate. "Ooo. This looks a lot like sister's!"

"And yet, it is a cheap knockoff." Yorihime's face became neutral.

Toyohime simply pouted back at her. "...That's mean, sister. You shouldn't be _mean_ to Reisen, after she just came back. I thought you were _happy_ for her, too."

"I speak on what I see." Yorihime countered. "You must know I am of results, sister. But, aside from that..." She quieted down, not eager to speak further with her sister around.

"Aside from that?" Toyohime pressed, smiling gently.

"Reisen has proved the justice of our culture." Yorihime said something completely different and irrelevant. "We should let her rest further. Tomorrow, we can get to know her better. She's just moved back in, after all."

...Toyohime pouted, and made for the door. "I guess you're ri~ght. I wonder if she has any naughty mags…"

"Scoot." Yorihime fought her own grin with a frown, and gestured to the door.

Soon, Toyohime made her slow exit, walking carefree down the sun-kissed hall outside.

..._click._ Yorihime shut the door, still inside the room.

She turned to Reisen. "What is the meaning of this?"

Reisen shot back immediately, expecting this a little. "What's up?"

Yorihime walked up to the melee weapons. "All of these are mere replicas of the kind we use here in the capital. They couldn't have cost more than a thousand credits, altogether. You mock me, with these souvenirs? Or, were you fooled?"

"...Tch." Reisen's face soured. "What's it to you?"

Yorihime's brows furrowed. "One implies you are trying to deceive me. The other implies you came out of your journey still a fool and none wise."

The latter Reisen's pride wouldn't allow, and yet the first was the truth she was trying to avoid dropping.

She closed her eyes.

'_What the hell do I say?'_

"...You don't have to answer." Yorihime declared. "I suppose I'll see your worth in the next few days." She began to leave.

"It was to deceive you." Reisen admitted, opening her red eyes. "Sorry."

...At that, Yorihime softened, stopping near the door. "...Is that the truth?"

"Yeah." Reisen took a deep breath. "...I learned some things, on my trips between all sectors. I learned, that I hated the lunar capital."

'_I need to shut up. I'm going to get fired.'_

...Yorihime stepped back. "You—... you _what?"_ She looked absolutely winded, all of a sudden.

Body tense, Reisen said no more.

...Yorihime looked to the fake polearms on the crate beside herself.

'_She's—'_

In nearly an instant, Yorihime swiped one up, and slid straight over to Reisen.

_Woosh._ Reisen leaned her whole body back. The plastic emerald staff swung straight over the apex of her stomach, her suit's tie flicking to the side from the moderately powerful swing.

"Hup!" From here, Reisen flipped backward into a handstand, then arrived back onto her shoes. "Ah—"

_Whunk._ Yorihime met her instantly in the gut, thrusting her left hand forward to connect the plastic staff tip with Reisen's abdomen.

_Wham!_ That's when Reisen's knuckles met Yorihime's nose.

"_Gh—"_ Yorihime staggered back. "You— _ingrate!"_

Reisen's face hardened back. "How— how am I an _ingrate?"_

"After everything I've done— _for you—_ with our soldier's blood and Lunaria's resources, you disrespect me, my sister—... the _capital?"_ Yorihime gritted her teeth back. "How long have you _upheld_ this lie? Have you never cared?"

"...I— I've cared." Reisen answered truthfully. "But it was hard to continue caring. All across Lunaria, there's hardships that seem like they're not even recognized or cared about, here. You must know, right? How other sectors operate?"

"Of course." Yorihime frowned. "I sent you to each one, didn't I? I filled out the paperwork for _every sector."_

"Then, why do neither of you _fix anything?"_ Reisen frowned back. "Sending me to those sectors did not make me resent their way of life, or their people. It didn't make me glad how easy my life could be, here. It disciplined me, but it also made me—... it made me see our world for what it really is. And, I hate it. I think so much more could be done. It made me respect their way of living."

...Yorihime exhaled through her nose, glaring at the window for a moment.

Then, she met Reisen's gaze again. "My sister doesn't _know._ And, she shouldn't know. You do not understand, how essential to Lunaria every sector's specific orientation _is._"

Reisen protested. "If we allocate our resources different, it could _be different_, though! We could afford some sanity in how every person is treated. If we properly used—... our _massive_ industrial power, as one globe-spanning nation, we could ensure a peaceful life for our citizens, and quality training for our soldiers."

"You understand nothing." Yorihime shook her head. "Such optimism, in those other sectors, would be a mark of weakness. Lunaria is very distinctly defined into all of these very different sectors for a _reason._"

"Even so— why are most of them _shit?"_ Reisen returned. "I could see like— I could see _geological difference,_ but—"

"Lunaria has a _pure balance._" Yorihime decided. "That whole excursion was for you to see this pure balance for what it was. These past fifteen years were your training. You are strong, you have potential, and they do not. Because Lunaria dictated so."

"Who _cares_ about _me?"_ Reisen grinned. "Why can't you clean up the industrial sectors? Why can't there be a little intellectual compassion in the military sectors? Why are the entertainment sectors _complete_ good-for-nothings?"

"Ultimately, that sort of thing is out of my power." Yorihime shook her head. "While I may very well interfere, it is against the collective wills of the council. In my opinion, there is nowhere more fine than the capital, and that is the way things are meant to be. They squaller, so we may stand. For, if we all stood, there would be no unification."

Reisen thought on this. She could partially agree with the latter part, but at the same time…

'_If there was just— someone making decisions with an ounce of decency in these sectors— everything would be remarkably better! These damn sisters have the power to change that, and they just have this fucking— 'no can do' attitude…'_

"By the way." Reisen sighed. "...I really hate how the capital does weapons."

"Now you're just being petty." Yorihime scoffed. "Fine. You may sleep. Tomorrow, I wish to see more vigor in your duties. Your _opinions_ must not ruin your aptitude as a simple captain, at least. I will not let you be a complete failure yet."

'_A complete failure?'_ This would imply that Reisen was, in part, a failure now. '_Fuck you!'_

The ceiling light went off. Reisen's computer turned off, and Yorihime opened the door. "You will sleep, and you may not be allowed out of this room for the evening. I don't feel like I can trust you, after everything you've said."

_Fwi- Shi~ng!_ A barrier lit up around the room, only visible through the one window the room had.

Reisen leaned back, closing her eyes. "...Cool."

"This barrier will prevent leaving, as well as your wavelength communications with other rabbits." Yorihime turned away. "Goodnight, Reisen. I love you."

It'd been some time since Reisen had heard that. "...I- I love you too?" She wasn't sure how to reply, so she just said it back idly.

_click._ The door shut.

'_...Last time they said that to me, it was when I was young, and actually pet-like. Them treating me like a pet now… ugh. I'm used to living in apartments and only having to sneak around the living regulation managers.'_

Reisen moved for her crate. '_Speaking of sneakin' around regulation managers…'_

\= Lunaria =/

It took awhile to set up, and the evening was late.

_thump- thump._ Reisen patted the side of her clumsy, bulky but small, portable generator. "Finally."

It was very basic, but also somewhat complicated. Ultimately, it was a box about twice the size of the desktop computer's tower. On the back, there were a number of triangle-shaped inlets, where the cables could be plugged in.

It got around most confinement and curfew checks by being very avant garde. It was powered by fifty double-A batteries, which could also be manually charged with lunar power.

'_It's great that magical energy is just everywhere, up here. Too few people know how to take advantage of this.'_

Reisen's computer turned on, after she plugged it in and pressed the power button. '_Got i~t. Eat shit…!'_

...And yet, she felt like working on the gun she was designing now, instead. '_Getting that generator working again put me in a hands-on kind of mood, actually.'_

Sitting at her workbench, she was able to wirelessly power her tools now, using both her own internal energy reserves, as well as the generator nearby.

It would be a combination of everything she's used so far, put into one gun. A mortar, a rocket launcher, a machinegun, and a precision shooter. It couldn't be _exactly_ a sniper rifle, as defined by the limitations of everything else, but it could still assist aiming and accuracy.

She'd built many guns before, using what she'd learned in each sector to make something she found cool. But, this was something more. She'd been working on this since she began her fifteen year journey.

It laid on her workbench, looking like a nondescript metal machine at the moment.

She sat down, and the work began.

'_I don't think I'll ever get through to Yorihime.'_

_Vrr- vrrr~!_ Laser drill noises began. She was fitting a particular, internal composite piece together.

'_...Looks good to use.'_ She nodded at the pieces she'd combined. '_I'll use a lot of quick-twist screws, so I can actually pop this open later easier. Still gotta drill the holes, at least.'_

_Vrrr- vrrr~!_ Her room was alive with the sounds of work. Dim blue light was cast onto the workbench, from the computer and from a small, discreet worklight over the bench.

'_Yorihime is one of those kinds of people. Severely traditional and complacent. No matter how I argue, it's never gonna be good enough. I'm always missing something. There's always some reverence— some illogical sacrecy in the way things are. _

'_I don't know if she actually knows better, or if she's just scared. Scared of trying, or scared of losing this way of life.'_

What Reisen desired really was nothing less than a revolution, when she thought about it. With the council at fault over the myriad utilitarian rule over each sector, what needed to be cut may've been obvious.

That didn't mean it had to be a violent revolution, of course. '_How are we gonna change the way people think?'_

Plus, thinking about how to make this smooth over for each sector was just beyond Reisen herself. '_Isn't this why we— have— a council?'_

She frowned, as she fit the front of the gun into place.

'_In every sector, there are people who are yearning for freedom. People who spend endless days working, living in small apartments, going to work at hands-on jobs, or simple thinking jobs that merely require a sentient interface, ad infinitum. We could be using those minds for so much more, or not at all.'_

'_Even my thinking is a waste. All I'm supposed to be is a soldier. A leader, maybe, but one who follows orders from higher command. In other words, a sentient interface to tow the line and be a mouthpiece.'_

The grip was being fit into place. The gun was large enough to fit onto her back, and the front had a huge, metal vice which she could clamp.

_Cli- click._ The magazine fit into the very back of the weapon, arced over the rear stock. This unorthodox design was to feed in rocket and mortar energy payloads, in addition to a reserve of bullets.

A triangular tank handled every type of ammunition fed through the magazine, parsing them into the base gun. This wedge-like part was for processing the elemental flavor of the innately non-elemental payloads. Like this, Reisen could channel the elements into her weapon.

'_Talking to Yorihime at all was a mistake. Trying at all was a big mistake. I'm not supposed to be anything but—... like a pet, to them. Because, even trying, I've probably sealed myself in this captain role for good. And, Yorihime's gonna make sure of it: no matter how hard I try, I'm stuck. It's over. This is my life, now.'_

_Cla- clack._ She shut the vice, which closed over the gun's barrel.

'_I fucking hate it.'_ Reisen grit her teeth. _'Yorihime…'_

Yorihime may have thought she was being fair. But, in a moment of near revelation, as Reisen worked on her multi-gun, she realized something.

'_She's making impulse decisions which impact my entire life. My entire professional and personal life have been— and will continue to be— impacted by her thinking. I'm going to suffer for a long time, and I won't be able to do a fucking thing. I can't even just tell her off for being a bitch.'_

She shut her eyes.

'_I want out.'_

Standing up from her gun, she moved for the computer. '_Let's clear my head.'_

Plopping down in her computer chair, she opened BunnyFlufferNetwork. '_Wonder what the captains I assigned in the other sectors have been up to…'_

_Ding!_ Reisen got instant messaged by someone. '_Wait- already? Oh.'_

_SuperBunny76: Congratz on ur promotion!_

It was a message sent just now, by a short-haired bunny girl in the previous industrial sector.

It was one of few sectors focused entirely on systematic work, and it showed in many of the bunnies there. Many had day-long jobs of sitting in an isolated cubicle all day. Their computers were monitored to ensure that they didn't spend time on entertainment websites; the web network of most computers were restricted on a per-sector basis.

But, this late at night, the bunny must have just gotten out of work.

She had short, lavender hair, Reisen remembered. Reisen's own hair was similar in nearly every way, but way longer, going almost down to the ground.

'_She's got a lot of potential.'_

Reisen messaged her back.

_MasterChiefReisen_A11: thanks_

'_Short and cute.'_ Reisen judged her own message. The lack of punctuation endeared it to herself. '_Wonder if she'll pick up on that.'_

_SuperBunny76: thanks huh_

'_She did…!'_

_SuperBunny76: tell me what its like in the capital! what work do people do?_

'_She's still pretty curious, about this place.'_

_MasterChiefReisen_A11:_ _not much_

_MasterChiefReisen_A11:_ _its like one really long culture festival_

_MasterChiefReisen_A11:_ _if you even have those in A-I2-E_

'_For some reason, I doubt it. Who'd manage the credits system? Especially at their own festival?'_

_SuperBunny76: kinda_

_SuperBunny76: we have a week of observing the like week of summer_

_SuperBunny76: not that we have seasons here so its weird wtf_

_MasterChiefReisen_A11: pft_

'_I had the urge to type 'lol' but that felt like a really bad idea, for some reason.'_

Reisen looked at her computer's time.

2:06 AM. July 20th, 1969.

'_Damn. Today left me drained. Didn't help, already getting scolded by Yorihime.'_

_SuperBunny76: from what other people told me its like a party all the time_

_SuperBunny76: are you having fun_

...Reisen glanced at her bed, before replying.

_MasterChiefReisen_A11: no_

Getting up, Reisen moved for the bed.

'_Tomorrow morning, I'll put the last touches on my new multi-gun… and, maybe after work, I'll test it out. Maybe I should bring it with me, so I can head to a forest right away and start shooting it.'_

_Creak._ She flopped onto her side, head meeting the pillow.

'_Still— in my suit…'_ She realized. '_Wha— whatever…'_

Reisen curled up where she lied, and her tenseness and urge to struggle left her.

'_Ye— yes…'_

She smiled into the room's bleary dimness, cast by the computer screen.

'_So—... good…'_

\= Lunaria =/

_Creak._ Reisen awoke instantly, slamming her right arm down on the bed covers. It was five o'clock sharp, and she'd gotten about four hours of sleep. She thought, at least. '_Um— two, three, four, five… more like three, maybe? I can't count, apparently. Whatever.'_

Getting off her bed like it was a defeated beast, Reisen glared at the computer screen ahead. '_Another day, another waste of my time. Here's hoping I can get through to those stupid capital buns.'_

Her head was dulled by the vague tinge of being tired, the feeling of just waking up. But, when she looked at her multi-gun, she forgot all about her drowsiness.

'_Alright! Now, I just gotta put some finishing touches on this, and then I'll be rea~dy, pretty much. Maybe I should change into a different suit, too. So that I don't smell, or anything.'_

So, Reisen instantly began stripping. She flung her clothes around the room haphazardly, first discarding her dress coat, then her undershirt and pants…

'_Wait, where'd I put my new undergarments. Ah.'_

_shoof._ She slid open a small, off-color wood dresser, and retrieved a pink bra, and pink panties from a mess of miscellaneous clothes.

_shoof._ The big lower shelf had all the neatly folded dress clothes.

'_Surprising how much better you smell, just throwing on a new pair of clothes. Where's my perfume and deodorant stuff…'_

Not soon after, she buttoned her dress shirt up, staring down at her multi-gun…

'_Later today, I'll test how ammo feeding performs. I've hardly ever shot this thing yet, aside from a few test fires.'_

She lifted the entire weapon. It was definitely mortar and bazooka sized. She hefted it onto her shoulder, and it nearly as wide as she was.

"Nnh." The weight made her tense up, but also made her feel strong. "He— hehe… hell yeah."

'_Already feel like I'm gonna love this thing. I mean— I made it, after all!'_

After grabbing a few backup tools, and other necessities, she moved for the door.

_click_. Upon opening it, she saw Yorihime there.

"Ready to go?" Yorihime had a brow raised. "...What's that, you're carrying?"

"Nothing." Reisen shook her head. "Some weight. Makes my back stronger, and my movements more precise."

Yorihime snorted. "Really? That reminds me of the training regime of sector A-11-H. Such brutal simplicity doesn't befit a capital captain, you know."

"Lemme have this for today." Reisen frowned. "Please?"

Yorihime began to move around her back. "What even is—"

"Do _not_ touch it." Reisen demanded.

Yorihime smirked. "Oh? Are you hiding something, in there?"

Reisen's voice became lower. "If you so much as _scratch it,_ I'll skullfuck you."

...Yorihime blinked twice. Then, she opened her mouth.

'_I'm too used to being the near-top authority. Working up the ranks in a new sector is always like this. Somehow, this feels just as awkward.'_

"I—..." Yorihime let her head lean back, looking at the ceiling. "I have no words."

"Good." Reisen nodded, moving down the hallway. "Anyway. What're your orders, for today?"

"You know…" Yorihime inhaled. "I don't think I can trust you, around my soldiers."

Stopping, Reisen faced her. "I don't think I can trust _you_ around _your_ soldiers. They're weak against our modern technology."

"...You think that's the point?" Yorihime smirked back at her. "Our efficiency comes from our rich purity and the meaning we carry into battle. No mechanation, no matter how fierce, comes close to the power the gods give us in combat. My soldiers here are designed for such."

'_Yorihime can channel gods.'_ Reisen recalled. '_But…'_

Reisen kept moving. "Yeah? Well, without _divine intervention,_ your army's a pile of trash. About as much of a pile of trash a few _other sectors_ were, 'fore I got to 'em."

She'd had a very curious relationship with every sector. Sometimes, especially when she was younger, her progression through the ranks would be rocky, filled with people calling her out for her own weaknesses, and the environment itself would put emphasis on her own powerlessness.

Other times, she'd have to do the same for the entire sector, as she would be the most disciplined person there. How each area handled itself was surprisingly self-contained, and always quite different.

"You've never taught an army that may be aided by gods." Yorihime stomped after her. "You've never seen soldiers like mine."

"If I had a credit for every time I heard that line, I'd be rich." Stopping again, Reisen grinned back at her. "This whole 'god' thing feels like a stupid perk in a video game. Almost like _cheating."_

Her face hardened. "You use what you must in war, _Reisen._"

"I know, I know. That's exactly why your soldiers should be better prepared. Your powers should be an ace, a trump card, not a _crutch._"

"They are _no crutch!" _Yorihime got offended. "They are the backbone of my army, _my pet! _We-_"_

As they moved down the halls, they came to the kitchen of the Moon Palace.

Toyohime was there, with some pancakes. "...Are you guys _fighting? _Really~?"

Instantly, there was no more fighting.

...Yorihime sighed. "My soldiers fit a very specific role. They are not meant for the duty of… our more expendable troops. My soldiers are heroes. My soldiers can combat the myths of fantasy. Anyone you have ever taught, Reisen, could not, and cannot."

...Reisen had no idea how to interpret those words. '_She's fucking crazy.'_

There were three cakes of pancakes at the table, each stacked three high, with butter and syrup.

"...These look good." Reisen awkwardly stared down at them, since she was ready to leave, and everything.

'_I suppose I could stand and eat them.'_

"Don't they?" Toyohime smiled widely. "I asked for one of the palace staff to prepare you guys something…"

"Thank you, sister." Yorihime smiled, and gave her a deep nod. "Let us eat, Reisen. I suppose you may carry on as usual, today, and we'll take things from there. I… _may_ have been somewhat unfair to you."

'_You think.'_

\= Lunaria =/

It was now eight in the morning.

Reisen stepped off the main path of the lunar capital, coming up to the oriental-looking barracks which housed Yorihime's personal guard.

The barracks itself was unlike anything Reisen had seen. There were no dorms, and there was only a small armory of melee weapons in the rightmost rooms. The leftmost rooms had a bathhouse, and the center room was simple a common area.

Coming in through the front door, Reisen felt herself get bombarded by the mental network in here.

'_Hello~!'_ Someone yelled at Reisen. '_Good morning, captain!'_

'_The captain's arrived!'_

'_A~nd now we have a captain!'_

"_Is it true— that you're Yorihime's pet from long ago…!?'_

'_I wanna sniff your hair!'_

Reisen shook her head, after a moment. '_Oh, geez. They're all so starry-eyed. Yorihime, what the hell…'_

Then, the physical assault began, the bunnies all romping up from parts of the barracks to confront Reisen. "It's you!"

"What's that on your back…?"

"It's probably a really big suitcase!"

"It's a little pointy for a suitcase…"

"She's really hot!"

Reisen sighed. '_This is going to be a long day.'_

"Everyone…" She spoke, but they wouldn't quiet down. _"Everyone!"_ So, she yelled.

They only mildly quieted down. For now, that'd be good enough.

"_I want everyone— out in the courtyard!"_ Reisen yelled as loud as she could. _"Right now!"_

...The bunny soldiers were all vaguely displaced, but eventually did as she said.

Normally, commands were issued by wavelengths, so that words wouldn't be needed. '_If I give harsh and sudden commands by mouth, it'll at least get them to shut up and listen for a moment, 'cause they won't be used to it.'_

One bunny soldier stuck around, though. "Um… you don't have to yell. Don't you know, about our mind stuff?"

Reisen snapped her gaze to her. "And who're _you?"_

The short-haired bunny furrowed her brows. "I'm Rena. Yorihime asked me to keep an eye on you."

...Reisen shook her head. "Trust me, the only one here who'll need to be kept an eye on is _you_ soldiers. What rank are you?"

"We're all royal sentinels." Rena answered.

"...The _hell's_ a royal sentinel?" Reisen had actually never heard of this unit type. "They unique to Yorihime?"

"Well, _yes—"_

"Of course." Reisen marched into the midst of the common room, shaking her head.

The ground shook a little with each step, her multi-gun weighing her down and making her way heavier.

Stopping at the table in the center, Reisen faced Rena again. "Yesterday, I ran basic checks just to see what you were all about. I wanna know now, the hell've you all been _doing_ for the past year or two?"

...Rena didn't immediately follow her, but answered anyway. "Practice with our mythril polearms. Additionally, we're all pilots for Yorihime's custom 'Emerald Sentinel' unit."

'_Emerald Sentinel unit?'_ Reisen had never heard of that…

"Emerald Sentinel unit? And what's _that?"_ Reisen really wanted to know.

"They're a new brand of deep space combat mech." Rena provided. "They're meant for use backing up Yorihime in combat. They're outfitted with acid gas spray, dual homing missile launchers, advanced melee capabilities, and a heat ray."

...This, Reisen was starting to like. "Re- really? Yorihime would authorize something like that?"

"Right?" Rena grinned back at her. "She admitted we needed some innovation for the new era. But, she keeps telling us how crappy guns and vehicles are, so she got those sentinel mech suits for us to pilot. They're powerful."

'_I guess she wouldn't let herself be too behind the fold. But, deep space combat mechs are only effective in deep space, right? We have plenty of other military-standard mech operators out there, too. We have a whole sector about deep space combat, basically. Even that sector wouldn't let its infantry skip exercises.'_

Speaking of, Reisen wanted to know some things. "How often you all _do_ exercises?"

"Everyday, we practice rites of our weapons." Rena declared. "We practice battle in the woods, and run at least a lap around the perimeter of the whole sector every day."

'_Hmm. Not too shabby, actually. Still, sounds just like a warm-up, before the actual exercise would begin. At least they're further along here than in the entertainment sectors.'_

"...Huh. Alright." Reisen nodded. This surely couldn't be too bad.

_BAM._ She laid her multi-weapon to rest atop a table on the side of the room. '_Let me just tether this down, so no one can steal it.'_

\= Lunaria =/

It was bad.

They were along the sunny, southern woods of the capital's long green lawn, and Reisen was having a time.

"What the _fuck…!?"_ Her jaw was agape. "Are you two— what the _fuck're_ you doing!?"

_fwi- fwish!_ One of the bunnies hopped on one leg out of a bush, pulling up her dress pants. Her half-naked partner began to crawl out, too. "Uu- wh- why're you _running with us!?"_

"To make sure you aren't _fucking yourselves in bushes apparently— that's wha~t!"_ Reisen hollered. "Does _Yorihime_ let you just all fuckin' _lez out in the middle of practice!?"_

"They— ugh…" Rena caught up to them, a hand on her own face. "Look— they still get their work done— just—"

"No!" Reisen's eyes were wide and red, when she turned back to Rena. "We're in the _middle! Of! Practice!_ You can all be _cunt buddies_— in your _own fuckin' time—_ but _we, are, exercising!"_

"Ugh!" The half-naked bunny came up to Reisen, her top still off, and bare chest exposed. "You don't fuckin' _get it— _we do this _everyday!"_

"Ev- everyday…!?" Reisen beamed widely, sauntering up to her. "Do you mean to tell _me— _you _skip out on practice every fucking day—_ to have sex in the bushes!?"

"We don't _skip!"_ The bunny flourished her arms out. "We just— we just _do it!"_

In truth, this wasn't really all that uncommon, considering the sexual appetite of lunar bunnies. Still, Reisen couldn't let this slide; especially not in active training.

"Look." Reisen stepped up to her, finger pointed right at the bunny's nose. "Here's what I want you to do. I want you to do _ten more laps—_ and I _don't_ want to see you all just _fucking each other in the bushes again._"

The bunny huffed. "Look— if we _get it done,_ we _get it done._ Sorry, bitch-captain, but that's how we roll. We only take _direct orders_ from Yorihime, you know."

Reisen's eyes narrowed, and she grinned. "Oh? Oh yeah? You're— you're just gonna say all this shit to me, without even your fuckin' shirt on?"

Beaming, the bunny brought her arms behind her own head. "What, see somethin' you _like?_ When I'm done with ya— you'll be sucklin' 'em too. Not gonna lie, captain, but you're pretty attractive!"

"Heh- hehe." Shaking her head, Reisen lumbered back. "Wo~w. Alright, hit me."

The half-naked bunny blinked. "Whah?"

Reisen was in her face in an instant. "I want you to make a _fist,_ and fucking _hit me in the cheek. _Right _here."_ Reisen pointed to her own reddening cheek. "Take your _best fucking shot._"

...The blue-haired bunny beamed again.

_Whap!_ Then, Reisen's head flicked to the left, knuckles meeting her right in the cheek.

_WHA- CRUNCH!_ In the next instant, Reisen slid back, and kicked her leg straight up. The tip of her boot met the bunny's nose, and the heel met her chin, one after another.

"_Nghf—"_ Holding her face, the bunny glared back. "Fuck—"

Lunging forward, Reisen grabbed onto her shoulders, and made the bunny lurch forward. '_I'll show you to bitch back at me!'_

With the bunny's upper body held, Reisen swung her left leg all the way back.

_whish._ Then, kicking it forward, she slid her entire body under the half-naked bunny, flopping onto her own back.

This massive overhead throw flicked the bunny straight behind Reisen, forcing her to flip forward.

_thunk._ The bunny's upper back met the ground directly. "_Kh— aa—..."_ Her whole form went limp, as she stared agape at the blue sky.

\= Lunaria =/

When the running exercise was complete, Reisen stood before them in the field outside the barracks, arms behind her back.

"I get that you had your own _social after-school club ecosystem_ going on." Reisen admitted, from what she'd seen. "And we can all be buddies, sure. But the _number one thing,_ that _kills in a wartime scenario,_ is letting your personality quirks, emotions, and other _shit_ get in the way of efficiently serving."

The blue-haired bunnies all neutrally stared ahead at Reisen, keeping quiet. There were at least thirty of them, all in a single-file, side by side line.

"I've told other sectors this lesson before." Reisen also admitted, as she stood before them. "War is not a game. It's not an _anime, _it ain't a fuckin' _fairy tale,_ it's 'shoot or get shot'. And if little miss sugar tits over there's having bush sex with her cunt-rag pal, then someone's gettin' shot."

"We wouldn't— do that shit in combat!" The bunny who Reisen overhead threw earlier spoke out. She was the only bunny in a chair for this talk.

"What would she do if you got shot?" Reisen stepped right up to her. "What would she _fuckin'_ do if you got shot? What if she got shot? Sure, we heal good, one a' you might get better— let's say it was in the head, and they're _fuckin'_ dead. Miss bush cunt over there is dead. You're supposed to be piloting a specific mech, loading mortars, _something—_ what do you do?"

...At first, the bunny didn't say anything.

"_What do you do~!?"_ Reisen yelled in her face.

"I— I would take revenge." The bunny decided. "In the name of our fam—"

"_Wrong! Answer!"_ Reisen barked. "_Aa~nh! Wro~ng! _Pff- pft…" She nearly made herself giggle.

"Yh- you're a weird chick…" The bunny near them spoke, smiling.

Grinning, Reisen looked up at her. "...Anyway. I don't care about whatever familial honor bullshit we got goin' on in the capital. I don't expect you all to fight like fuckin' samurai. I expect you to all fight like _defenders of Lunaria._ An' defenders of Lunaria do their job right, 'cause that's the best service they can do. Am I clear?"

Rena stepped forward. "Captain Reisen. You are out of line."

Reisen leaned back. "Oh, hell no. Don't make me throw _you,_ too. I was just startin' to like you, Rena."

Rena didn't falter. "We are guardians of the capital first, and the servants of Yorihime second. I cannot permit you to corrupt her ideals with your own. We are a unit of honor and dignity."

'_Only reason I'm even doing this whole drill sergeant act is to break their silver spoon shtick. First day I was here, it was clear as crystal a lot of these bunnies are just the 'pure-breed' type you see in all kindsa ads in other sectors, never had to work a fucking job in their life. To them, this place is summer camp, or a fun club.'_

Another bunny stepped forward. "You sound a lot like the _stupid rabbits_ from the other sectors. In fact… you even _look_ quite shoddy."

"That slutty body of hers— it's probably good for nothing but sex."

"Yorihime _did_ adopt her. She's really got her work cut out—"

"Did she adopt her from sector _Z!?"_

"Is— is there even a—"

Reisen marched up to Rena, who was simply smiling back at her.

For some reason, Rena was wearing this bunny-styled hat on over her normal ears. '_This motherfucker.'_

_pop._ Reisen took the cap right off, revealing the bunny's normal ears beneath. "This all a fuckin' joke to you?"

Rena tilted her head. "What do you mean, Rei—"

_whap._ Reisen whipped her with the fluffy bunny cap. "Shut the fuck up. Do another ten laps."

Rena blinked. "I— I'm sorry?"

"Ya heard me." Reisen stepped away. "In fact, you're all fuckin' _bunnies,_ one lap a day's fucking bad. We should be doing a hundred everyday _at least_ for awhile, if we ain't doing something _productive_ that day."

"You're a fucking madman." Rena stepped closer, following Reisen.

...Reisen grinned back at her. "We're not the _Lunatic Capital_ for nothing. You know who does a hundred laps everyday _and_ gets all their gun exercises done? Sector _Z._"

'_Footnote: sector Z doesn't actually exist. But, this actually does happen in sector H-79-Edge. They're a sector closest to the side of the moon facing Earth, and those bunnies are hu~ge. I thought I was gonna die, working there. Hundred laps is no fucking joke…'_

"They— exist?" The various bunnies all reacted with incredulity.

"Bullshit."

"No one even _compares _to what we do. We guard the capital."

"We're the protectors of Lord Tsukuyomi, and Yorihime! We're the best!"

"Wonder if this captain's just fuckin' jealous…"

Reisen shook her head. '_These stupid motherfuckers. Man…'_

\= Lunaria =/

The day's activities were almost over. It was now late into the day, and the sun was setting on the green, lush land of the lunar capital.

Reisen deeply inhaled a breath of fresh air. "...Alright. That was a _start._"

Tired, angry bunnies stood all around her. Reisen read their red glares, grinning back at them.

"Tomorrow, I want us ta do _twice as much!"_ Reisen gave them a shit-eating grin back. "He~ll, yeah!"

Rena shook her head. "Lady Yorihime will know about this day."

"Ooh, let her know." Reisen marched up to her again. "Let her _fuckin'_ know. It wouldn't be the first time someone reported me to HR— and let me tell you, in _no other sector_ do they _give a damn._ If you got bunnies reportin' ya out _there,_ you're doin' your job _right._"

'_Mostly for the first few weeks, anyway. Eventually, a squad gets real cool, and you can be personal with them without them getting unprofessional or fucking everything up.'_

'_And, you know. This kind of thing's to establish that I'm the one in charge. They've gotta look at me like I'm some kinda superman— 'cause then they'll wanna be a badass, too. And they'll get there, they just gotta want it, and earn it. It's all about experience— real, hands-on experience, provable in combat and through being.'_

_Shoof._ The back door of the barracks opened.

Yorihime marched out onto the plain where the bunnies all stood. "Everyone. We have a situation."

...Everyone turned, facing her, immediately becoming quiet.

"Humankind has lead an invasion on the moon." Yorihime made her announcement. "...The Earth has begun its assault."

Everyone was still quiet.

'_...Wh—'_ Reisen's eyes widened. '_No way. No fucking way. S'this a joke? Thought Yorihime didn't do humor...'_

"Re—..." Rena's mouth was agape. "Really?"

"Yes." Yorihime nodded. "They are attempting to land a craft on the Sea of Tranquility. My sister is already informed and heading to the scene. We will follow her shortly after to dispose of this craft. You are all to join me in this first battle of the new Lunar-Terra war."

'_Oh, fuck.'_ Reisen felt at herself. '_Oh, this unit is not ready. We're gonna sustain crazy losses—... well, unless Yorihime does all the fighting herself. With the powers of the gods, it's likely.'_

Yorihime scanned everyone with a purely neutral face. "And, amongst us, there is one traitor."

'_...What?'_ Reisen had a bad feeling in her gut.

Everyone instantly looked at Reisen, only compounding that feeling. '_Oh, fuck me. What now?'_

Yorihime drew her katana, and pointed it ahead. "Reisen. You are to be killed for your crimes against the capital. Or, should I say… Master Chief Reisen underscore A-eleven?"

'_When'd she find out my username? And— what the fuck could I have even done…!?'_

Adrenaline pumping, Reisen glared at her. "What'd I _do?"_

"You conspired to reveal our lunar defense structures to the human people on Earth." Yorihime declared. "The price for such treason is death. It pains me to say so, but you will have to die here."

"I didn't _fucking_ do anything." Reisen's glare deepened. "You set me up, didn't you? You're— reconsidering bothering with me, aren't you?"

"We have _undeniable proof._" Yorihime shut her eyes. "Do not make this hard, Reisen. I take no pleasure in putting you down. Not only this, but years ago, when we first adopted you, it just now came to light, that you aided in the immortality of Kaguya Houraisan."

'_I'm totally being set up.'_ Reisen couldn't even recall such a thing. '_What a joke.'_

"...Let's say I _don't_ buy this." She frowned hard back at Yorihime. "I'm innocent, is what I'm saying."

Yorihime raised her blade. "I'm sorry, Reisen. You were already dead, all those years ago. I should have realized it sooner."

'_Really, huh.'_

Reisen began to walk for the barracks. '_Guess I'll just leave, then.'_

When she moved to leave, Rena grabbed her, by her right wrist.

The previously half-naked bunny began to saunter up, grinning. "Where do you think _you're_ going, asshole?"

"Lady Yorihime— permission to peg her with a huge strapon!?"

"I'm gonna kick her ass!"

"No wonder she was such a bad person. We'll deal with her in no time."

'_These little shits…'_

_whish._ Reisen spun around, breaking Rena's vice-like hold.

_WHAM!_ She took to the air in an instant, her right knee meeting Rena's nose. "_Ghu—!"_

"_Reisen!"_ Yorihime flew closer, like an evening star. Her form was alive with light, her whole body white.

Reisen's eyes lit up red as she saw the nearing swordswoman— and then—

_woosh._ Yorihime swung wide— but had to stop.

Reisen had Rena in a chokehold now, using her as a human shield. '_He- hehe~!'_

_Whi- whi- whi- whish!_ All the nearby soldiers summoned their mythril polearms from thin air, but stood cautiously at the side, not willing to risk injuring Rena.

Reisen rolled her right leg up, then kicked it outward.

_Whack!_ Her boot met Rena's back, flinging her straight ahead into Yorihime. "Wuah—"

_thud!_ Yorihime caught Rena before she could faceplant, kneeling down to do so.

_WOOSH!_ Reisen sprinted and leapt, clearing the air over Yorihime in an instant.

"You—...!" Yorihime's eyes flared with lunar teal, her zeal igniting. _"You damn— criminal!"_

'_Nope!'_ Reisen sprinted straight into the barracks. '_Let's get the fuck outta here!'_

She slid to a stop in the midst of the room, and saw her multi-gun against the left wall, tethered into place. '_Oo— ooh…'_

Breaking the plasma tether in an instant, she raised it from the polished wood platform, grin gradually growing. '_Let's get down to business. First thing's first, I've got to head home and see if Toyohime—... hmm. Well, I still have shit I need there.'_

With it over her shoulder now, she looked at the barracks door—

_WOO- WOO- WOOSH!_ The entire legion of mythril polearm-wielding bunnies sprinted inside, blades poised ahead.

Reisen aimed her gun ahead, expression flaring in vengeful pleasure. Her hands fiddled with the sides of her gun faster than the eye could see.

_FWUMP._ She fired a molten payload from her multi-gun.

It soared straight into Rena, who was leading the charge. She looked up at it, but didn't fear it, unknowing of what it was.

_FWAM- BLAM- THWA- THWACK!_ The payload became a searing orange flameburst, which then exploded into a hell of bullets, which scattered across the entire barracks room.

Wood furniture was serrated, the walls all around everyone becoming wood fiber spaghetti.

Reisen's teal energy shield flickered, her own spread of shells shaking her body. '_That— was bigger than I thought!'_

"_Uhu— it burns!"_ Yorihime's guardians had no energy shielding, so the flaming bullets pierced many of them, igniting them.

"_Ghk- khk- coff…" _The bullets had pierced one of their throats, and they were now ejecting blood from their mouth.

Blood was now flecked across the entire barracks room, bunny girls collapsing in heaps unceremoniously, and polearms clattering to the floor.

"_Hgh—"_ Coughing up blood, Rena shambled towards Reisen at running speed, limbs limp, one eye shut, as her whole form smouldered. "_Yhu— yh— trait— hher!"_

_Whack._ When she got close, Reisen kicked her boot into Rena's ribs, then turned for the door.

'_Alright— I've got to haul ass. There has to be someone around here bigger than these clowns— and if I've supposedly committed such huge crimes, the riot squad'll be on my ass in no time.'_

Outside, Reisen looked around. The bright sunlight now seemed inappropriate and ominous.

Yorihime was already there amongst the brightest rays, however. She had her katana drawn, whole body alight searing white.

"_Reisen."_ She called to her pet. "_You will drop your arms, and surrender your life for Lunaria."_

...Reisen sneered back.

'_We coulda came to an understanding, probably. Yorihime wasn't completely unreasonable; she had a logic to things. But—... fuck. Fuck everything. Life does this shit to you.'_

"I don't think you have a clue," Reisen's grip on her multi-gun tensed, "how bad this'll go."

...Yorihime closed her eyes.

"_Goodbye."_ She crouched down, poising herself to swing ahead in an instant.

Reisen aimed her multi-gun straight at the floor. '_Oh— fuck—'_

_KABOOM!_ She shot a rocket straight down.

Her energy shield roared to life, flickering dangerously, threatening to break. The blast's sheer force threw her far away, however. '_Ooo— holy shit…!'_

_SHING!_ Yorihime swung in an instant.

...She opened her eyes, and turned, expecting to see the two halves of Reisen there.

_Clack!_ Twenty meters away, Reisen landed out of her rocket jump, and began sprinting. '_Fuckin' idiot! Rockets beat swords!'_

\= Lunaria =/

The Watatsuki household was largely empty.

Two blue-haired male rabbits stood at the gate, cobalt polearms ready. "She's coming…"

"Did— did she get past the fuckin' _Emerald Sentinels?"_ The other one looked a little squeamish...

Reisen raised her head, glaring ahead at the two guards.

'_No matter what I do at this point, I'm gonna die if I can't get out. I need to get to my computer.'_

"Hu— hey!" The men got in her way, when she got close. "You're not allowed—"

"_Hrr~...!"_ Reisen lugged her multi-gun from her shoulder, and lunged forward.

_WHA- WHAM!_ She slammed the men aside with one swing, clotheslining the both of them with the gun.

\= Lunaria =/

...Inside, Reisen nearly slid onto her ass as she rounded a corner, sprinting straight for her room's door. '_Who— waxed the fucking floors…!?'_

_BAM._ She kicked the door of her new room open, and sprinted for the computer there.

_THUMP._ The computer chair almost broke when she sat in it, her weapon still awkwardly mounted to her shoulder.

Logging into BunnyFlufferNetwork, she sighed. '_Let's see if this went viral yet.'_

_Di- di- ding, ding!_ Her instant messaging lit up with activity, making her jump. '_Oh, shit.'_

_AmazonGoddess69: reisen wtf ahahahahaha_

_SuperBunny76: what the fuck did you do reisen_

_asdf: reisen you BUNNY FU CK_

_SuperBunny76: she's probably ded_

_AmazonGoddess69: nah_

_asdf: HOLY SHIT_

Grinning intensely, Reisen clacked away at her white keyboard.

_MasterChiefReisen_A11: help_

'_Someone has to know something. They're all defense captains, for fuck's sake.'_

_Apothia: Reisen, you disappoint me._

_SuperBunny76: reisen man wtf u do! ! ! ! ! ! ! !_

_AmazonGoddess69: fight the power reisen_

_LordTsukoyomiWasAMistake: just so u know reisen i wont care when ur dead_

_AmazonGoddess69: fuck off mistake_

'_If they can calm down in time, that is…'_

_MasterChiefReisen_A11: alright look i need some help_

_MasterChiefReisen_A11: i gotta go- like, not from chat, from fucking everything_

_SuperBunny76: reisen wtf ! ! ! ! ! ! ! what did ou do_

_MasterChiefReisen_A11: someone help me flee pls_

_LordTsukoyomiWasAMistake: u could try letting them shoot you_

_SuperBunny76: lol_

'_I'm gonna fuckin' die aren't I.'_

_SuperBunny76: dude my place right next to the capital and no one comes by banking_

_SuperBunny76: u could crash here reisen or something_

Reisen's eyes widened. '_Oo— oh yeah! My keycards!'_

Standing up for a moment, she lumbered over to her crate, and opened a compartment on the side.

She drew the red keycard within. '_Should get me through the door to the economy office sector. Then, I can—... I don't know.'_

Reisen hurried up to the desk again, abandoning the chair. '_I'll just kneel before the monitor…'_

_AmazonGoddess69: hey if you actually get to HEDGE we'll help fight_

_LordTsukoyomiWasAMistake: i just wanna kill people_

_LordTsukoyomiWasAMistake: so maye dont visit me_

_LordTsukoyomiWasAMistake: idk_

_Apothia: And you're just helping her right away. What the fuck is wrong with you people?_

_LordTsukoyomiWasAMistake: many thnigs_

_Apothia: She's a lunist; we've always known she was a lunist for awhile now. Can't believe you're all so stupid._

_i_like_big_bunny_cock: owo_

_i_like_big_bunny_cock: Reisen let me turn u into one of my hookers_

_i_like_big_bunny_cock: No one will notice_

_i_like_big_bunny_cock: You live and you get big dick_

_i_like_big_bunny_cock: win win_

Reisen began to stand to begin her jaunt for the exit into the nearest industrial sector, when she paused to look at the last few messages.

_NotYagokoro: Reisen. If you want to live, read my messages._

_LordTsukoyomiWasAMistake: reisen if u want to live dont become a hooker_

_Apothia: 'NotYagokoro'. How distasteful._

_i_like_big_bunny_cock: wtf how ould becoming a hooker kill her_

_LordTsukoyomiWasAMistake: i hate hookers_

_LordTsukoyomiWasAMistake: thats why_

_NotYagokoro: Your custom tank in the last sector had its transfer procedure cancelled; it's still waiting in the garage where you left it last month._

_NotYagokoro: Someone you know left a automated transfer ship waiting for you at the top of Big Chun Credit. This will take you to HEDGE._

_NotYagokoro: At HEDGE, there's a tank I left for you there. Use the yellow keycard in the automated transfer ship to access it._

_NotYagokoro: Taking the tank, drive across the Sea of Tranquility, to the point most facing Earth. There is an escape capsule there. While defense systems are scattered over this human invasion, you will be able to escape by virtue of being a low-priority target. You won't even register on radars, no matter what anyone does._

_NotYagokoro: Good luck. Don't die._

_LordTsukoyomiWasAMistake: wait wat_

_i_like_big_bunny_cock: lol wtf you talking about_

_i_like_big_bunny_cock: cringe prank_

_asdf: my ass is empty_

Standing up again, Reisen exhaled. '_I've never seen NotYagokoro talk before today. But— their plans line up with mine and go a bit beyond, so it couldn't hurt following them.'_

_thump- thump- thump!_ She heard noises in the hallway outside. '_Shit— took too long.'_

She reached for her crate, and took the one revolver on top stored there.

It was a modified one; meant to go with her multi-gun. She slid it into her suit's inner pockets.

'_...Heavy Claw.'_ She decided what she'd name the big multi-gun. With HEDGE on her mind, her multi-gun's weight, and the jaw-like vice she put on the multi-gun's edge, it came to her mind on impulse.

_CRA- CRA~CK!_ She shattered the window with Heavy Claw, ramming its vice into the glass. '_Not like it matters, this shield'll stop cuts—'_

Leaping into the window, she flicked her gaze down at the roof shingles; her room was on the third story, but the palace design happened to provide a convenient slope here.

_Cla- clack!_ Landing on the tiles outside, she glanced back at the room inside—

_PATATATAT!_ Then, she weaved out of the way as fast as she could. A lightning-fast spread of teal plasma shots roared from within.

_Fwi~sh._ Her energy shield was broken in a near instant; she'd been hit by a lot of that last barrage. '_Capital riot soldiers! Oh, shit—'_

Then, over the cusp of the roof, Yorihime floated up. Two angelic wings bloomed from behind herself, composed of magic, and her eyes were solid white.

'_There's no use fighting her head-on. I gotta—'_

"_Reisen."_ Yorihime spoke. _"I beg of you."_

'_Oh, thank the gods, she's monologuing.'_

A yell was heard from inside the window. "She went out the window!"

'_They know where I am. They've definitely got people on the perimeter.'_

"_End this stupid event."_ Yorihime asked. _"Lay down your head, and die with honor."_

Reisen heard the hum of her shield recharging. '_Thanks for letting me have a break.'_

"...No!" Reisen decided to argue back to buy even more time. She was gripping Heavy Claw hard, slowly aiming it down. "I'll keep fighting! Fuck you!"

Yorihime leaned her head back, as if struck. "...Then… a fight to the death, it is. All will realize your failure, and brutal stupidity. It pains me to admit, but my judgment in you was flawed. Rabbits of your ilk are naught but manpower, and that will never change, it seems. I'm sorry, Reisen."

_KABOOM!_ Reisen shot the ground beneath herself with a rocket again. Shingles exploded off the roof, blue dust from the colored tiles crating a small haze.

The blue trail lead to the upper roof. Reisen lifted her legs, shooting one more rocket against the roof she was soon to graze. '_Please— work—'_

_FWISH- KABOOM! _Her shield broke. A moment later, she opened her eyes, blinking rapidly amidst the rush of air. She'd skidded over the top of the blast, the rocket she shot having launched her further like she anticipated.

'_My legs— just barely missed the rooftop…'_

The estate walls of the Moon Palace were below her—

_Patat- fwish- fizz- whish!_ Plasma bullets fizzled in the air around her, the riot rabbits below unloading into the air, trying to stop her.

_Pap- pap!_ Yorihime was soaring after Reisen, eating the wake of plasma bullets, uncaring. "_Hrrr~...!"_

Now at the apex of her ascent, Reisen's heart leapt in her chest. '_Falling— so fast…!'_

The ground below had a series of sheds; it was the outer-estate lawn and garden. From the wall, riotgear-clad rabbits poured out, but only one was quick enough to move exactly for where Reisen would land.

_Cla- clack!_ The metal of Heavy Claw clattered, as Reisen hoisted it off her shoulder, raising the butt of it into the air. '_And— when I land—...!'_

_WOOSH._ She cleaved Heavy Claw down.

The riot officer below blinked, and defended with her clear, mythril-dusted glass shield.

_KRAKA- KRING- BOOM!_ It sounded like the first impact of a car crash, almost. The magic glass shield exploded everywhere, the butt of Heavy Claw shattering most of it.

The parts defending the bunny girl herself had folded in like a car's windshield. "_Ergh—"_ Her legs had buckled, the impact itself too much for her, in spite of the core of her shield holding on.

_Shunk!_ Reisen tore Heavy Claw from the crumpled shield. '_My energy shield's recharging—'_

_Patatat- patat!_ Spreads of plasma came from all around her, as Yorihime hung overhead, overseeing the combat to come.

But, Reisen wasn't planning on a messy tradeoff fight.

_Fwish!_ Grass spun into the air as Reisen leapt, twirling to face the squad.

_FWUMP._ She fired an electric, lavender-tinted payload from Heavy Claw.

"_Morta~r!"_ The riot soldiers all brought up their shields, tensing their jaws and skirting away, keeping close so as to use their combined might to endure it together.

_KLACK- FZZT- ZAP- ZAP- ZAP!_ The payload became a cross of lavender plasma on impact with the ground before them. Metal shells cased in shivering electric, lucid arcs created spiderwebs in the glass-mythril shields.

The energy shields on the rabbits flickered unevenly, overloaded by all the energy. "Shield's _down!"_

"The fucker- unloaded 'em!"

"Ugh…"

Reisen's boots uprooted grass, as she skidded around the side of a shed. '_That should slow them down long enough.'_

_KABOOM- BOOM- BOOM- BOOM!_ Yorihime landed on the ground, and her every step was a neon-white shockwave of pure, godlike power.

_CRACK- CLATTER- THOOM!_ The shed next to Reisen gave up the will to live, its foundation undone by Yorihime's footsteps.

"_Gods…"_ Yorihime's voice was louder than any bullet. "_**Gr**__ant __**me po**__wer!"_

From the tidal rush of tools and metal, Reisen reached in as she ran, and held up a cobalt and diamond encrusted rake. '_Wait…'_

_BOOM- BOOM- BOOM!_ Yorihime's form of light energy powered across the land, moving towards Reisen in a near instant.

_thunk._ Reisen slapped the rake down before herself, and leapt over it.

_BOOM- BOOM!_ Yorihime rushed right up behind her—

_whish._ Yorihime's white leg stepped on the rake's edge, and it flicked upward with explosive energy.

_KABOOMBOOM- BLAMBOOM!_ Yorihime's own terrain-forming, godly power exploded not only the ground beneath herself, but into her own face, the super-charged magic rake hitting her with terminal velocity.

"_**Rr**__hh— fuck…"_ She staggered back, form refocusing into being, rubbing her forehead. "**Da**mn **it**!"

Reisen hauled it. '_I— can't fucking believe that worked…!'_

\= Lunaria =/

Reisen was out of sight amongst the trees faster than anyone could admit.

'_This is probably why most military sectors are barren wastelands. Runners can't just turn on their 'radar begone' field and hide in some bushes.'_

Radars were scarily easy to fool on the moon, she realized. '_...Not that a lot would be solved if they worked, to be honest. Not like you need a radar to find out where a riot is.'_

_Fwi- fwish!_ Reisen darted out of the brush, up to one of the sector gateways.

It was a huge, platinum wall. This wall of cobalt, platinum, steel and magic was what encapsulated all sectors. Atop each wall segment were massively powerful, impossible to defeat pinecone-shaped guns; the Strix cannons.

'_Good thing I don't have to fuck with those.'_ Even amongst rabbits, a Strix cannon could turn any humanoid to paste in seconds. They were specifically to keep riots from spilling into other sectors, and did so with lethal, near-perfect efficiency.

The walls were lit up with brilliant, purple-white lights, and the blue of the capital's sky faded out against the hexagonal great barrier the walls also upheld.

'_I know a hundred and ten things about these damn walls. They're kinda cool on the inside, but… boy, does seeing the same hallway layouts over and over in every damn sector get old.'_

Two bunny men stood before the gate, polearms ready.

"Hey." One of them stepped up, frowning hard and looking formal. "You're not—"

_BAM- BAM._ Reisen drew her revolver and shot him in the knee, twice. "_Gh- dh- aargh!"_

...As he collapsed, the other guy dropped his polearm, and held up his arms. "I'll help you."

"Oh?" Reisen smiled at him. "Alright. Open this door."

...He bowed, and turned. "Right away—"

_whap._ She smacked her revolver against the back of his head, and he dropped instantly.

'_Not a very uncommon training practice. Guard tries to be on your side, then he dials the riot squad, or pulls his own gun when your back is turned.'_

Now, it was just Reisen, and the big code-red door.

Looking around for Yorihime, only to see her nowhere, Reisen dug in her pockets for her keycard. '_Should open this door…'_

_flick._ She swiped the keycard in the red keycard slot, on the wall next to the door.

_KRK- KLANK._ It began to roll open.

_FWI~SH!_ Atmospheric pressure created a fog, as the two different environments conflicted with one another, while the doors slowly powered open.

...Stepping forward, Reisen gazed at the eternal evening of economy and corporate sector A-2-B.

'_Maybe I can get some answers here, before I get the hell out.'_


	2. Sectors

Sector A-2-B's layout was to make up for the extreme inefficiency of the capital's traditionalism.

There was an L-shaped main road that cut through the sector, and many offshooting roads and alleys. Buildings five or six stories tall stood against a grey, partially transparent atmosphere, revealing the unending stars above.

Sector A-2-B always had an evening sky, except for when the sun was bearing down directly upon it. Then, it was metal grey.

Reisen's boots clicked on the metal sidewalk aside the concrete road.

'_First thing'll be to find Urara.'_ Reisen thought of what SuperBunny76 offered her. '_Thankfully, the police station barracks thing should be nearby.'_

The 'barracks' for this sector's defenses were on the fifth and sixth floors of a thirteen story building.

Darting down the sparsely populated alleys, Reisen came up to the thirteen story banking complex. _'Here…'_

It was a capital-owned structure, responsible for handling the credit system; a form of cyber-currency on the moon regulated by the capital itself.

'_Such is why the barracks were on the fifth and sixth floors. We were a line of defense against cyber-terrorism, rebellion, and ground-up riots that threatened the building. Being one of the hubs of the entire planet's currency makes it a high-priority target to vent displeasure, among other things.'_

Stepping out of dim, multi-colored street lights, crossing the empty main street, she arrived at the glass front door of the tall banking building.

There were bunnies here, looking guarded. They had riot shields on their backs, and rifles held, but didn't look aggressive.

"Hey." Reisen stopped before them. She had Heavy Claw hoisted upon her right shoulder, and immediately both officers aimed at her, seeing the giant gun.

...Then, the girl officer on the right lowered her rifle. "...Captain."

Walking up to the door between the two, Reisen snorted. "I'm not your captain."

"You still are, to me." She gave Reisen a nod.

Conversely, the bunny guy to Reisen's left pressed his rifle against Reisen's head.

"...Ryozo." The bunny girl's face soured. "Really?"

"Really." He frowned. "It doesn't matter who she was. She's wanted, now. Look: we either get promoted here, or we get fired. I don't know about _you…_ but I've got shit I need to do."

"But- it doesn't make any _sense._" The blue-haired girl glared at him. "If she wanted to do terrorism, attacking the banking system would be _way_ more devastating than like—... like, fighting humanity was _inevitable anyway—"_

"I don't really care if she's innocent." His glare back was level.

...Reisen turned, staring straight at the energy rifle's barrel, and smiled. "I suppose I should compliment your dedication to duty."

She slipped her left arm into her suit coat. '_He's not gonna notice. He might be shy, but he has a thing for being cocky...'_

"I don't take compliments from criminals." He smiled back at her.

Reisen brought her left arm back out. Ryozo's gaze snapped down-

_BANG._ Reisen shot her revolver into his knee at a downward angle.

_Splack!_ Blood splattered in a circle on the ground around his leg, the metal shell exploding once inside.

_PATATATAT!_ He unloaded his energy rifle-

_CRA~SH!_ Reisen rammed herself through the glass front door. Her energy shield rippled from the first shot or two she took earlier, having grazed her head.

_flick._ The lights inside snapped to red.

"_Warning."_ The system's speakers repeated a recorded message. Since the captain change in this sector wasn't that long ago, it was still in Reisen's voice. _"The facility has been forcefully breached._ _Attention to all security personnel: door A-1 security breach. Recommended lockdown of low-security floors."_

'_Let's get upstairs.'_

**Organ Jaws**

Having pushed through the front lobby, Reisen found the stairwell next to the elevator.

'_This building has two, to make navigation overall harder. ...Seriously. As in, if a riot were to race up the stairs, they'd have to funnel around crappy mid-building chokepoints before they could keep going up and breaking stuff.'_

Naturally, the two stairwells split in the midst of the barracks on the fifth and sixth floors.

_Cla- cla- clack!_ Reisen's boots pounded against the stone steps of the metal-encased stairway.

Then, she was there on the fifth floor.

At the top of the stairs, there was a large room filled with metal crates, tiled with steel along the floor.

Reisen looked around. '_This dingy room again.'_

She moved for the plain steel door that blocked access to the inner 'barracks' section of the building-

_Crea~k!_ It swung open on groaning hinges, an armed officer of the barracks aiming an energy scattergun ahead.

His hair was a fair platinum, and his grin fierce. "_Captain Reisen!_ Or, should I say, _lousy defector Reisen!?"_

Reisen pointed her revolver at him. "...I'm just here to speak with your captain."

'_Not that he has any duty to oblige my will.'_

Not saying anything, the platinum-haired man sauntered forward, towards Reisen's aimed gun.

"..._Boys!"_ He shouted loud.

_BANG._ Reisen took the first shot, and the opposing officer's energy shield flickered.

_CRA- CRA- CRACK!_ That's when the metal crates all around Reisen fell open.

'_What— the fuck!?'_ She hadn't detected any signatures from within the boxes around her; and that's because there weren't any.

Other officers of A-2-B sprang from the boxes, clad in civilian clothing, with only the minimal wave-dampening technology attached to them; almost literally invisible, aside from their physical bodies amidst the metal.

They had simple knives, if anything at all. This meant the largest threat here was still just before Reisen.

_BANG- BANG!_ Reisen darted back, firing another two shots ahead at the shotgun-wielding man.

_Fwi~sh!_ His shield fell from one, and the second met his midsection. "_Ghk- ah-"_ Dropping his shotgun, he felt at himself.

_Splack._ That second bullet exploded inside him. It was a small but painful detonation, staining the floor and wall near him with small, bloody strings.

One of the blue-haired bunny men nearby tried to thrust his blade into Reisen-

"_Hr~h!"_ Stepping back, Reisen swung Heavy Claw off her shoulder and down into him with frightening velocity-

_WHA- KRI~NG!_ Someone tackled her from behind at the same time Heavy Claw's mere pushforce blew the man aside. "_Uhf!"_

Forced to let go of the giant gun, Reisen turned to whip her pistol at the silver-haired girl behind herself.

_CHUNK._ A meaty sound came from ahead while Reisen was looking back, and her revolver was blown straight from her hands. "Wh-"

'_Someone- shot a ballistic slug!?'_

_fwi- fwish._ Reisen tried to chop her palm at the silver-haired girl behind herself. But, the girl had an energy shield which flickered, resisting Reisen's hand.

Ignoring her for now, Reisen's gaze snapped ahead-

_CHUNK- Fwi~sh!_ Her energy shield broke, a metal slug bouncing off of it.

The platinum-haired man leered, blood trailing down the side of his mouth. He had his shotgun that he'd dropped, grinning ferociously.

The bunny behind Reisen pushed, pulling Reisen left at the same time-

_Whunk!_ Reisen's torso hit the top of a metal crate that was there. "_Unh-"_

Then, the bunny raised her own arms. Two vice-like grips on Reisen's wrists forced them into the air, over her own head. '_Ah— damn—'_

The man poked his shotgun against Reisen's stomach, pressing it into her suit.

'_Dammit— Isoko…'_ Reisen knew the silver-haired bunny holding her. '_She's got my ankles against the crate— and my wrists—...'_

"Well, well…" He beamed victoriously. Reisen's shield wouldn't regenerate, between the interference of his gun and Isoko's hold.

"Fuck you." Reisen frowned and glared.

"Oh?" His smile became smug. "Y'know… I _knew_ one day, I'd get ta tap that big ass of yours."

"Pft." Reisen grinned. "Give me a break. When'll you _learn?"_

He flicked his eyes up. "You're in no position to be so _smarmy,_ defector."

The other bunny soldiers here were around them, knives and fingers aimed at Reisen.

'_...Well, this is bad.'_ Reisen figured. '_I should've noticed how out of place the boxes were, compared to my stay. They shouldn't've had a reason to move them.'_

'_Also, these people… they're all the underperformers. Mostly.'_

Isoko, the one who held Reisen, was someone familiar. '_She's kind of fucked up, but a good shock-type trooper. Makes sense she'd be here.'_

'_Iwane here, though…'_ Iwane was the platinum-haired bunny man. '_Never really wanted to realize the difference between those assigned to mating duty, and those assigned to other duties.'_

Iwane began to lower his shotgun, and step closer himself.

"...No one's gonna knock me out?" Reisen furrowed her brows. "Pretty sure that's what I taught you."

"Why would we knock you out?" Iwane smirked.

"That's what you do when you apprehend and hand in targets." Reisen's glare became level. "Do I hafta ask your new captain to discipline your ass?"

Iwane's left hand met her right breast. '_Wait-'_

"We aren't handin' you in." Iwane leered. "_I'm_ payin' you back, for everything. Everyone else here's just getting their fill."

"So— sorry, Reisen." Isoko's voice came from around Reisen's neck, and her hold on her wrists was still unbelievably firm. "...But— this is better than you getting caught. And—... I— I wanna see what's under that suit."

"Ur- Urara wouldn't let you fuckers do this…" Reisen felt her heart pump. She tried to move her wrists and her legs, but Isoko's technique was beyond military-grade.

'_Shouldn't've let her get into fucking restraint-play in her off-time—'_

"Captain don't _know."_ Iwane smiled. "..._God,_ your boob's soft."

'_Are— are you fucking kidding me…!? What is this—'_

The other men and women got closer, implements held at Reisen, as Iwane began to undo her tie, setting his shotgun aside on the crate.

"You— idiots wouldn't fuckin'—" Reisen's eyes widened.

Iwane pressed on her breasts. "Will you shut up, if I make you feel good?"

"Fuck _off—_" Reisen looked at the bunnies around herself. "Nnh— _fuck—..._ you—..."

'_If— they had tried to run me through the right process— I could escape! But— fuck this! Fuck my luck! Fuck!'_

Helplessly, she glared back at Iwane, as he massaged her chest. '_What do I do, now? I had a plan— but… damn it…'_

She shut her eyes. '_Maybe... I can escape later… but, damn everything...'_

She felt hands against her sides. '_Fuck these losers…'_

Then, someone marched into the room from the single door it had.

"Oh. There you all are."

Iwane paused, and Reisen saw the irritation in his eyes.

He frowned back.

Urara— SuperBunny76— stood there, energy shotgun aimed. "...Pretty sure I dismissed you guys for today. None of you are allowed on barracks premises, except for _Iwane_ here."

Iwane huffed. "...Will you just _fucking_ let me have this? Hell. You wanna join in? I know you have the hots for the captain, too."

"_I'm_ the captain now, and next time we do exercises, you're getting double." Urara smiled. "The rest of you ought to leave, _now,_ or you'll be arrested. If anyone on the lower floors stops you, I'll bail you out. Tell them practice went late, or something. This is your last chance."

...Quickly, the other, less involved men and women filed out, taking their captain's word at heart.

Iwane looked for his shotgun, and reached for it with one arm, his left arm still on Reisen-

_CHOOM- CHIK!_ Urara shot a barrage of plasma from her shotgun, and pumped the magnetic slider again.

_FSSHT!_ The plasma burned his flesh, his energy shield having been flipped off earlier. It needed to be off for him to grope Reisen, after all.

"_Ghh- aaa-"_ He hissed with his mouth open, the layer of burning metal, plastic and rubber along his back stunning him-

_THUNK._ Urara whipped the butt of her shotgun against his head in the next moment, like it were a tonfa.

_Thud._ He fell on his ass, scrambling back—

_WHUNK._ She kicked him in the cheek, and he splayed out on the floor. "Ff- _fhuck…"_

Isoko let go of Reisen. "I— I'm sorry…!" She bowed immediately, too.

Urara smiled. "I don't really care if you're sorry. I care about how all of you are going to _make it up to me,_ _as a unit_, come tomorrow. I don't care if we get disbanded; I'm going to find where all of you live, and make you run practice."

"I—…" Isoko was crying. "I— I thought— if we kept her— even if we _did things_ to her— it'd be better than getting caught and killed—"

"Yeah, yeah." Urara shook her head. "If none of you bunny fucks showed up today, Reisen woulda had thirty minutes more. If she dies at the end a' all of this, you can thank _yourself._"

Isoko covered her own face with her hands.

...Now free, Reisen brushed herself off, and adjusted her bra. '_Coulda came a little sooner...'_

Sauntering up, Urara gave Reisen a salute with her free arm. "Hey, Cap."

'_Pftuh. Can't even discipline her over that, since I ain't even a real captain anymore…'_

"Hey." Reisen tilted her head back. "If ya came a few seconds sooner, my tits wouldn't feel weird."

Urara snorted. "Shoulda stalled them a few seconds later. I figured something _dumb_ would happen 'fore you got here. C'mon."

_Cla- clank._ Lurching down, Reisen hoisted Heavy Claw over her shoulder again, and snagged her revolver back up off the floor. '_Fucker's slug dented the metal. That's gonna be a chore to replace.'_

\= Lunaria =/

The two stood before a large glass window, overlooking the main L-shaped street of A-2-B.

"So." Urara stood at Reisen's side. "Yeah, that NotYagokoro chick was right, your tank's where it was. Control panel up here's said so, and I went and checked earlier."

"We heading there next?" Reisen wondered. "...Our real goal's at the top of Big Chun Credit. Well, for me, at least. I can get out like that."

Urara nodded. "Here's the story: you took me hostage, made me man one of the guns of your tank or something. Especially intimidating, because you're you."

Reisen snorted.

'_Sounds good, I guess. Now that we have a moment, though…'_

"You got any idea what the _fuck's_ going on?" Reisen wondered. "...Not that I expect you to."

Looking away from the wall-encompassing window, Urara shook her head. "No, but I know pretty well that there's really no way you could've told Earth about us."

They were in a large, dim room. A panel with lights and computers sat behind them, facing inward, while they stared out the window into the darkness of the A-2-B streets.

"And…" Urara smiled at Reisen. "There's no way I could forget about you. You're like, _the_ captain, to half of Lunaria's defense forces."

"Am I?" Reisen raised a brow.

'_...Could that have been one of Yorihime's plots, actually? If it was, she kinda screwed it up. I'd have to actually care about being obedient to her.'_

"Hell yeah." Urara smiled, and brushed her own blue hair aside. "Since news channels and comms are kinda limited across sectors, the fact you get tons of cross-sector speak— or any _at all_ amongst the military is surprising. And, then there's our super secret little chatroom, that you invite your appointed captains to..."

'_...Mostly a tradition, if anything. I wasn't even the person who set up that chatroom— or my account. I just kinda rolled with it 'cause it seemed cool.'_

"So, captain…" Urara saluted her again. "What are your orders, here? ...My idea's um, taking the elevator down, and-"

"Fighting it out?" Reisen suddenly met her gaze. "If it's just the civ-tier police force, yeah, that'd be doable. But that idea's also stupid."

Urara blinked. "Aa— ah? Really? How're we gonna get to the garage, then? The roofs?"

Reisen shook her head. "Nah." She pointed her revolver at the window. "See that?"

There was a large, aluminum and chrome water tower atop the building across the street. On its own, it was three stories tall, sitting atop an already six story building.

The garage was on the street below, one building right of the one with the water tower atop it.

"We're gonna tip that water tower." Reisen thought aloud. "We'll hitch a ride as it falls. We'll use a rocket— or a few— to break the nearest, left-most support. The flood on the ground below will encumber infantry and dissuade civs, letting us jack my tank. From there, we can use the tank's hover capabilities to get atop Big Chun Credit without any anti-infantry interference, like snipers, or anti-hoppers."

Reisen wasn't very familiar with anti-hoppers as it was. '_They're a type of anti-infantry used to dissuade criminal acts that involve the inhuman jumping capabilities of us lunar rabbits. They're also used to stop parkour artists, those with jetpacks or hoverboots, or any other kind of light navigation enhancement-addled adversary. They see use in sectors like these, with tall buildings.'_

'_...And, if we just jumped and platformed our way up there, they'd be in the way. Not so scary if we're flying up in a tank. Anti-armor sure as hell isn't their specialty.'_

"...Hu~h." Urara nodded her head. "We won't even have to fight anyone, _and_ it'll cover us from so many angles. Damn. When the hell'd you think of this?"

Reisen snorted. "I mean, I saw that water tower coming into work everyday. I kinda always wanted an excuse to shoot it. Can you imagine the cleanup?"

...Urara grinned. "Right? Well… how many rockets you think it's gonna take? We're not necessarily lined up with anti-armor and anti-structure shit here…"

Reisen adjusted Heavy Claw with both arms. "Don't worry about it. All we'll need is mana."

Blinking, Urara stepped around Resien a little, looking at the gun. "Ooh—... it's that thing you were making! What do you mean, don't worry about it? The hell'd you _make,_ Reisen…?"

Stepping up to the window, Reisen crouched down. "You ready, Urara?"

"Aa—... yeah." Urara nodded, and took a deep breath. "I'm ready, now."

'_Dropped her guard, for some reason. Hope she's on the ball when that water tower falls.'_

Here, with her in her left hand, and her right hand on the shoulder-mounted Heavy Claw, Reisen gazed up at her target…

'_First, this window's in the way.'_ She pointed her revolver at it. '_Actually…'_

She looked over her revolver. It always had at least two bullets in it at nearly any time; the magic she had between it and Heavy Claw insured that. But, she could manually load it for a full chamber.

_Thunk._ Placing Heavy Claw down, she popped open the chamber, and searched her suit for spares. '_Probably gonna need all six rounds.'_

_Cli- cli- cli- click._ Slipping each shell in one at a time, Reisen snapped the chamber back into place, and lifted Heavy Claw again. '_Alright.'_

Urara took another deep breath, her energy shotgun off her back and held ready. Since civilian riots were common in this sector, shotguns were the common go-to main weapon of its defense forces. Especially pertinent, as most fighting here was done close-quarters.

'_...Do I wanna waste a revolver shot on this window, then? Not really. The big one's got bullets in it too, so…'_

Heavy Claw had bullets in its multi-ammo magazine. However, accuracy was not its specialty.

She slid her revolver into her suit, and propped both arms onto Heavy Claw.

_PATAT- PATAT._ The gun vibrated on Reisen's shoulder, unloading two quick bursts of ballistic bullets on a level rivalling a tank's machinegun.

_THU- THU- CRA~SH!_ The semi-resistant glass folded quickly to the small barrage. Huge, separated spiderwebs became fractures.

Despite the anticipation, Urara jolted at the sound of glass exploding.

As the huge shards fell into the urban abyss below, Reisen focused on the water tower…

_Fwi~sh!_ Reisen shot a replicated rocket from Heavy Claw, which flew forward into the dark day.

_Boom!_ Some distance away, it exploded in a star of amber against the support of the tower.

'_...Well, of course one won't be enough. These are fairly all-around rockets.'_

_Fwi~sh! Fwi~sh!_ At the same, precise point, Reisen launched two more glowing rockets.

_Boom- Boom!_ The force of each blast could almost be felt, the crumbling of stone and steel visible from where the two bunny girls watched on.

_Fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi~sh!_ Reisen expended a bunch of mana, forcing Heavy Claw to replicate many rockets. '_Damn, they musta reinforced it. Probably 'cause they figured someone like me would be a shithead and attack it. That— and, water and metal weigh a lot…'_

_Boo- bam- boom- boom- boom!_ Explosions dotted the entirety of the support, smoke billowing in a storm around the side of the water tower.

_CRA- CRAAA~CK._ Then, the girls heard a great, groaning echo of metal stress and fracture.

'_Oo— oh, holy shit.'_ Reisen had a casual, bewildered smile, as the water tower fell forward, the destroyed support compromising the entire structure.

_THOOM- BAM, BAM._ It tilted into the adjacent tall building's side, brushing off of it and taking off a huge chunk of concrete and steel. This exposed a room inside, some furniture spilling out.

The huge water tower fell forward, diving into the abyss between the two rows of buildings. The sudden rush of the moving weight crashing down made the two girl's hairs stand on end.

_WOOSH._ Reisen watched it sink under the floor she was on.

"Let's _go!"_ Darting up to the edge of the window, Reisen leapt.

"Oo— oh, fuck!" Urara sprang after her, and leapt out next.

\= Lunaria =/

_BOOM- THOONK._ The top of the water tower clipped the front of the banking building, shattering three stories worth of windows.

Adrenaline high as she landed, Reisen felt the whole water tower tilt the opposite way of how it was rotating. '_Ooh— holy—'_

Reisen and Urara doubled back, leaping up onto the top of the rotating canister. They slightly overestimated their jumps, and almost missed the top of the water tower entirely. '_Okay— almost—'_

_CRAA~CK!_ The bottom supports of the water tower met the street, and an ear-splitting crash of asphalt against metal commenced.

"_Urara!"_ Reisen yelled, springing from the edge of the water tower in what would be a near-instant to a human.

"_Hu— pah!"_ Urara leapt after her, eyes wide.

'_There!'_ Reisen saw the street light ahead.

..._Thunk- CRACK!_ Reisen kicked down onto the top of it, and it broke instantly. '_Ww— woah!'_

_Fwish!_ Landing hard on her feet, Reisen felt her energy shield compensate for some of the rough landing. '_Damn.'_

_Fwi~sh!_ Urara didn't have a similar idea, landing hard on her legs, her energy shield exploding as it gave from the ferocity of the near two-story drop. "Ff—... _fuck!_ _Ow!"_

"Walk it off!" Reisen began to run—

_CRA- CRAAA- BAMBOOMBOOMBAM!_ The water tower behind them was exploding against the floor—

"_Run!"_ Eyes wide, Reisen ran for the garage.

_KRACK- FWUUUU~SH!_ The water tower became a tsunami of clear, semi-grey water, exploding down either side of the road.

Coming up to the garage doors, Reisen sprinted straight past them, and made for the reinforced, double-airtight door. Most buildings of importance had reinforced doors like these, and multiple of them, to prevent riots from spilling into them.

_Fwish!_ Urara slid her keycard into the panel lock aside the door.

_VRR- vrrr._ Slowly, it shifted open—

_fwi- fwish!_ Both bunnies slid in through the thin opening as the door was halfway open, rushing inside.

_FWUUU~SH._ The roar of water blew down the street, wiping out parked, compact white cars.

Inside the facility, they were both able to sprint down the hallway they'd entered, to turn into a main room.

_Bam!_ Reisen slammed the door shut behind herself, now that they were both inside. '_...Whatever floods in shouldn't be strong enough, now. Only so much hallway to fill.'_

This is where the vehicles sat. Or specifically, in this one garage block, this is where Reisen's tank sat.

'_Hell yes.'_ Seeing it again, Reisen beamed. '_We'll be outta here in no time.'_

This was Reisen's highly modified Lunaria Guardian. It was a tank of steel and chrome, and multiple cyan-teal lights pulsed with moon-elemental power along the hull.

"...You know." Urara beheld the massive hull. "What the _hell_ do you have this for?"

Reisen snorted. "A moment like this?"

...Urara couldn't retort. "Fa— fair."

At its base, the Lunaria Guardian was a relatively tame, well-rounded model fitted with basic, reliable anti-armor and mortar capabilities; part of a uniform line of very reliable vehicles which performed consistently, nearly regardless of user.

This wasn't like that, anymore.

_clack- clink._ Reisen leapt up onto the side of her tank, her boots pressing on the steel.

The top of the tank had the standard lunar cannon, which used the standard-grade lunar energy armaments.

Crouching down, Reisen placed Heavy Claw aside herself, and slid her hands under the cannon's edge.

_VRRRRR._ With a press, she'd commanded the cannon to lift. The real surprise was atop the hull, beneath the cannon.

Three latches sat under here. Each latch was capable of producing a smaller, entirely new cannon, or even small missile silos, or comms dishes. Alternatively, they were access points, and could reclaim any deployed turret head.

Like this, the tank could not only serve multiple potential roles, but every time its cannons were destroyed, there could be a new one to replace what was lost. '_Something that actually takes advantage of the huge self-repairing technology reserve we put in every one of these things.'_

_Vrrr~. _The middle latch opened. '_Wait, I didn't ask it to open. What the hell?'_

From inside the tank, a grey-haired woman emerged.

Reisen tensed up. '_This woman—'_

"Aah…" Urara froze, standing aside the tank. "Lady Sagume…!?"

Reisen aimed her revolver at 'Sagume'. "Who the hell are you?"

'_If she goes by lady— she has to be a lunarian. Not boding well...'_

"Reisen!" Urara spoke up. "Don't you know her…!?"

"...No?" Reisen didn't look away. "Should I?"

'Sagume' held up her arms. "...Ease. I am from your enemy."

'_What—'_

"Hold your fire!" Urara yelled. "...She's our—... I guess _spymaster,_ kinda? She's really weird. But— I think she's here to help."

...Reisen frowned, turning to loom down at Urara. "She _literally_ just said otherwise. Are your ears folded?"

"Aa— nnh…" Sagume huffed. "I—... I will make sure you don't flee today."

'_Fuck me!'_ Reisen aimed her revolver at her again—

"She—" Urara leapt up onto the tank's side. "Everything she says— the opposite of it _will_ happen. That's why she's saying that stuff; it's because she's trying to help you!"

Looking at her, Sagume smiled and nodded. "She's wrong! Actually..."

'_...What the fuck.'_

"I was sent here." Sagume explained. "...To help you, but also to not help you."

...Reisen was starting to warm up to the idea. "If yer a—... if yer a _spymaster,_ do you know what the hell's going on?"

Sagume nodded.

A whiteboard floated out from behind herself.

It had oddly typographic text on it. '_Hey Reisen. I'm Sagume Kishin._

_Anything I say will become undone. Please note; this doesn't mean it's opposite day. Any situation I talk about will reverse itself, and stop being a situation in such a way._

_If I talk of your escape, you may backtrack to the start. If I talk of your pursuit… a lot could happen. Both you and your pursuers may drop your goals, and life will return to the way it was. The circumstance that may have brought about the pursuit in the first place may, I guess, stop? Or, work to prevent the pursuit?_

_I was sent here by two people. Both asked me to help you, but one had also asked me to do something not helpful to you._

_This is why I told you I was sent here to not help you. This was a crucial step in your transportation across the Lunarian skyways to HEDGE.'_

"I see, now." Sagume spoke softly. "I'm doing as she requested. You'll defect from duty."

...Reisen held her own head. '_What the fuck. This is some fucking riddle bullshit…'_

"However, Lady Yorihime is undergoing a true trial; defection from her master's teachings in the name of her own glory." Sagume revealed. "She will bring the best of the best; the kind of unspoken-of soldier only spoken of behind closed doors. Lunaria's finest."

'_...Then, does this mean-...'_ Reisen blinked, doing 4D Shogi in order to understand…

Sagume leaned her head back. "Lady Yorihime asked me to help you in error, thinking my aid would be a detriment. Another asked me to act on Lady Yorihime's error, and as an aside, aid you."

"Oh." Reisen didn't get it. "Huh."

Urara's brows were raised. "...So—..."

"After this, Lady Yorihime will wage war with the humans." Sagume declared. "But you will be the sinner who crushes the Lunarian hope of conquest."

"...I— I think I get it." Reisen thought critically… "The overall situation is, then—... that Lady Yorihime is leading Lunaria in a certain, violent direction, then?"

Sagume nodded. "That is the idea. The council and the people are unaware, for her actions will leave the echoes from which other's actions will follow. A true leader by model, if you will."

After a moment, she leaned to the side. "I was the one who told Yorihime of your defection. But, I could not have anticipated her tendencies, and all bets were off. Thanks to someone I know, things are looking to be on the right track, perhaps..."

"Wa— wait, you did what? Why?" Reisen looked worried…

"So I place my bets in you." Sagume gave Reisen a firm look. "Reisen. Consider this an imperial order. Tread the Sea of Tranquility, and meet Yorihime's might there. There is no certainty, but I hope for the best."

'_...She— didn't answer my question, but…'_

"...Okay." Reisen nodded hard. "I'll— show her what for."

Sagume smiled and nodded.

Urara sighed. "I'm so fucking confused."

Reisen nodded at that, too. "Don't think about it too hard. It's-... kind of prophetic, it sounds like. If prophecies could act backwards, sort of. But, it's still uncertain… and relates more about the topic."

'_Because she spoke of Lady Yorihime's tendencies and ambitions… they'll be defused. How they'll be defused is anyone's guess. For all we know, I could still be fucking dead by the end of this.'_

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Reisen gave Sagume another nod. "I'll try not to let you down."

'_Still, someone else is acting, here. Someone I don't know, and they're not Lady Yorihime.'_

\= Lunaria =/

_Vrrr- vrrr~. _Reisen's tank rumbled, shuddering as its computers and energy engine left hibernation and flared into activity again.

"Alright." Standing atop it, Reisen nodded, turning to the three slots beneath the raised turret. "It's online."

Urara raised from one of the slots, wiping her own forehead. "Good…"

Sagume floated from the nearby catwalks of the garage's upper levels, down towards Reisen.

"Before you go." She'd obtained something. "This is for you."

She was lugging a shoulder-mountable gun, and an odd pistol; a combo similar to Reisen's.

Reisen blinked. "Those are…?"

"Apollo and Asclepius." Sagume crouched down, to lay them down on the tank's hull near Reisen. "...Asclepius is the smaller one; son of Apollo. If you follow Greek myth, that is."

The big, shoulder-mountable gun's design was something beyond the regular generic chrome and steel design Reisen saw on most Lunarian weapons of the 'big shoulder cannon' genre.

It was lined with pearly white metal and sparkling gold. The front of the gun had a huge gold bow pointed outward, barrels pointing out along the arch.

Reisen looked over the white and gold pistol that accented it; also a revolver, when she looked closer.

'_The weight of these weapons…'_

"They were made for you." Sagume gave her a slight curtsy, then turned away. "Or rather… for this event. To be held by your role."

Half ignoring her, Reisen sat Heavy Claw down aside herself, and lifted Apollo. It was much lighter, yet the design betrayed no structural flaws.

Reisen couldn't see where to open the gun if she wanted to modify it; there were no loose screws, slots, nails, bolts or sliders. Every single part was practically fused to one another with precision beyond would Reisen could make sense of at a glance.

'_Wonder what it can do.'_ Holding it forward, she fed her energy from herself directly into the internal components of the gun.

Her lunar energy fed into the gun effortlessly. There was no kick or resistance, like with any other piece of lunar technology; there were no 'cobwebs' that a device might feed back to the user from its disuse.

She aimed it at some metal crates she knew were empty, across the garage floor.

_BOOM- CLICK!_ She fired an entire volley of bullets from the bow-like front of the weapon. They hadn't splashed out along the arch; every bullet of the salvo came at the crate ahead like a wall.

_KRANG- BAM!_ The metal crate was launched by the wall of ballistic shells.

'_...Ballistics, from something like this?'_

_BOOM- CLICK- BOOM- CLICK- BOOM- CLICK!_ She held down the trigger, and it almost automatically drew her energy. Three barrages were shot nearly instantly.

_FAZAPZAP- Fwoam- FWOOM- BOOM!_ The shells spreading from the weapon's arrow-like tip met the crate in a variety of flavors, reminiscent of Reisen's favorite elements; electricity and fire, alongside some sort of spiral of dark, opaque and black magic.

'_Where the hell'd that dark shit come from…'_ Reisen grinned. '_This thing's more trigger-happy than I am! It takes so little effort to feed— it feeds itself!'_

...Holding up the revolver, Reisen felt her mana— or energy— slide into it effortlessly too. '_The fuck's this, too…?'_

She aimed it forward, and pulled the trigger at a crate.

_BANG- KRAKRACK!_ There was barely any recoil; from Reisen's experience. The crate ahead had its metal side shatter instantly, the shell piercing it with high velocity.

'_...Nothing fancy, but it's damn easy to use.'_

She looked up for Sagume, but she was simply gone. '_...Oh, shit.'_

"Alright…" Reisen looked back at the tank's center. "Captain Urara. C'mere and hold onto my other guns. I gotta test these new ones out."

"Just drop 'em in here…" Urara waved her hand up from inside one of the slots. "Keeping this thing fucking revved takes _work!"_

Reisen snorted. "Does it?"

\= Lunaria =/

_CLA- CLA- CLA- CLANK._ The garage door clunked and banged open, shaking on the belts that dragged it into the ceiling of the ground-level garage.

_VRUU~M._ Reisen's Lunaria Guardian drove out onto the waterlogged streets of A-2-B.

Out here, there were riot soldiers; the standard sort that were deployed in the capital, earlier.

_FWATATATAT- FWATATAT!_ Plasma shots sprayed from them onto the hull of the Lunaria Guardian—

_fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Its energy shields flickered to live, as a wide, huge wiremesh of cyan energy.

Like any soldier or craft, it had an energy shield to buffer moments like these. It was three times as strong as any infantry's shield; which wasn't very useful for a huge craft like a tank, but every little layer like this went a long way in a craft's longevity.

_VRRR~._ The massive turret atop the tank slowly turned behind itself, as the hull faced forward.

"Holy _shit!"_ Urara yelled from her seat behind Reisen, aiming the big cannon from within the tank. "Reisen— what'd you _do~!?_ This is enough riot soldiers to stop like— a _hundred people!"_

_VRUU~M._ As the tank drove forward, Reisen didn't respond. She was busy, her hands flying across the controls.

_RATATATATAT!_ The two ballistic cannons on the front of her tank rattled. The cannons— similar to Heavy Claw's machinegun function— sprayed into the six or seven riot soldiers ahead.

_CHOO~M._ The massive cannon fired a thick, three body wide cyan-white laser straight into the other thirteen or so riot soldiers behind the tank, launching two of them.

"_It's a fucking field tank!"_ Inside the tank, the communications radio picked up the riot soldiers around them.

"_I thought these were deployed on the borders— not in fuckin' inner cities!"_

"_What the hell— fall back! We need anti-armor!"_

Reisen took a breath. '_Good. Looks like we won't be bothered too much yet.'_

_FRR- FRRR~._ The thrusters on the bottom of the tank lit alive. There were four, one on each corner.

Gradually, the huge craft hovered off the city street, into the air.

"Damn…" Urara grinned at the visuals from the inner-tank cameras. "Seeing these things used in cities is surreal. I'm so used to seeing tank footage from like— mountains and rocky terrain, and in space, and—..."

They passed the damaged buildings they'd climbed down earlier; the broken window of the barracks office, and the damaged building sides clipped by the crumbling water tower.

'_At most, we might get clipped by a rocket or two. No big deal, even if they're meant for tanks.'_

Big Chun Credit was a little behind them, on the tallest building of the upper part of the L-shaped road. Right now, Reisen was at the bottom of the 'L', near the center.

_FRRR- FRR~._ The tank floated up above the roofs of smaller buildings, rotating around.

There were figures atop said buildings, staring up as the tank surpassed some of them. Others peered down from higher levels, glaring.

"Uuh— hey." Urara adjusted the cannon's position anxiously, tense. "You know what those are?"

"What—" Reisen saw the figures.

They were one story tall figures of emerald and seagreen. They resembled Greek warriors, only roughly replicating the common aesthetic design often parodied in media.

"_TARGET_LOCKED."_ One of the suits spoke, aiming both arms up, palms facing out.

"_He~y!"_ A bunny's voice came from what sounded like a huge speaker. "_That you, Reisen!? It's us!"_

'_They're— the Emerald Sentinels. They're in the suits Yorihime got them.'_

_Fwi- fwish!_ Two rockets were shot from the palms of one of the emerald sentinels.

_VRR- RR- RR- RR~!_ A beam of pure amber met one of Reisen's energy shields—

_Fwuu~sh._ _"Hope your tank uses interior ventilation!"_ From three other emerald sentinels, some sort of green gas was expelled from their palms, billowing towards Reisen's tank.

_CHOO~M!_ Urara fired back at the sentinel using the heat ray on them, on one of the nearby rooftops-

_KABAM- BOOM- BOOM!_ The sentinel began to crash backwards, diving onto its spine from the one, thick anti-armor blow. "_SYSTEM_INOPERATI—"_

_KABOOM- BOOM! BOOM!_ Reisen's eyes darted around her console, and at the various cameras around the interior hull, as random explosions went off. '_They're— not entirely threatening on their own— but there's a lot of them!'_

_RRR- RRRR._ Reisen floated her tank up and over four of them, as they slowly treaded the A-2-B rooftops.

"_She exposed her underside to us! Hahaha!"_

"_Rena- fuck her day up!"_

"_You idiots!" _Rena's voice was heard from somewhere far away. "_She's gonna—"_

Reisen disabled her thrusters, flipping them off. '_Oh, boy...!'_

Her heart leapt, feeling how her tank fell down three stories.

The sound of the heavy metal of the Lunaria Guardian crashing down on the four emerald sentinels was impossible to describe.

A plume of dust, rocks, steel and concrete exploded from the top of the building as Reisen flipped her thrusters back on—

The whole interior hull rattled violently, shaking Reisen and Urara.

"_CRITICAL_DAMAGE."_ One of the sentinel's booming operating systems spoke.

The four crushed beneath Reisen's treads lied in heaps of mangled emerald crystal and frayed wires. The main torso- where the pilots seemed to hide- were made of some nigh-impenetrable compound or mixture, compared to the flimsy limbs of the humanoid pieces.

_WOO~SH._ As Reisen's tank bobbed back into the air, Rena floated her emerald mech down.

Solid eyes of airy green glared down at the Lunaria Guardian. "_Reisen. Your trail of destruction ends here, and now. I have been sent here on the orders of our lady Yorihime."_

...Reisen took a moment to search for the audio comms interface on her tank, which she didn't think she'd really need.

She found it quickly. _"...You better hope that suit's insured!"_

'_Yeah, I don't really have anything to say to her. She was some kiss-ass bitch I only knew for a day.'_

"_For Lady Yorihime!"_ Rena aimed both palms forward. "_Behold the power of the Sentinel Controller!"_

"_TARGETTING_ARRAY_LOCK."_ Her suit, the Sentinel Controller, spoke in heavy monotone.

_Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Six rockets spread out from Rena, moving to home in on Reisen's tank.

'_That mech seems faster than the others— and with this main cannon, I don't think Urara'll be able to hit. Once that main cannon gets destroyed— if it does— we'll have more options.'_

_CHOO~M!_ As Reisen expected, Urara missed her shot with the main cannon at Rena, who zipped to the left with absurd agility.

_BOOM- BAM- BLAM- BOOM- BAM!_ Reisen dipped the tank down, and the six person-sized warheads met the top cannon.

"_Holy shi~t!"_ Urara yelled loud, the whole hull trembling. "_Reisen— _the cannon— it's going…! If something sneezes on it— it's _toast!"_

_Woo~sh._ Floating up behind Reisen's tank, Rena aimed a palm down at the fragmenting top cannon. "_Pray to the gods for mercy."_

_VRR- RR- RR- RR!_ A thick, solid laser of pure heat and explosive energy drilled straight down into the center of the main cannon.

_KABOO~M!_ The main cannon of Lunaria Guardian exploded into molten metal, splashing out from the hull uselessly.

_Rrr- rrr~!_ For one thing, this made the tank twice as light, allowing it to ascend with greater speed.

_cla- cla- clack._ Reisen opened all three latches atop the tank, the ones which were hidden beneath the main cannon.

_Fwi- click, click._ From the leftmost slot, a radio dish array was created and exposed, and in the middle slot, a huge cooling cannon.

Urara stood from the rightmost slot, sliding shots into the grey metal revolver Reisen handed off to her. "Hey, _bitch!"_

'_We're almost to the spot, as it is. If we somehow don't break Rena by then, a few revolver shots should do her thing in. Those emerald sentinel suits seem really damn flimsy.'_

Big Chun Credit was in reach, and Reisen could see the transportation craft at the top, parked there.

_Fwoo~sh!_ The blue-tinted cooling cannon fired a column of air—

_f- i- i- e- e- e._ The radio dish array along the tank's left side sent out a disorienting pulse.

_BANG- BANG- BANG- BANG- BANG!_ Urara unloaded the revolver that paired with Heavy Claw, aiming at Rena's craft.

Between the draft, the wave-disfiguring signal and the ballistics, Rena's suit began to flip and spin in the air, trying to stabilizing itself, but its energy thrusters weren't responding. Her voice wasn't projected, either; everything of the suit was highly magical rather than mechanical, and the wave disruption didn't simply lock up functions. It practically disabled the suit.

_...Bam!_ The sound of the suit smashing against the ground somewhere beneath the rooftops and buildings below was heard.

'_...Guess they're really, really weak to syphon-type devices. Probably thought being a lunar craft was enough. How silly.'_

_Rrr- rrr._ Soon, Reisen got her craft to the top of Big Chun Credit.

'_Gonna be kind of a bitch to part with this… but, at least I got one good use out of it. More than I thought I'd get, honestly. Test runs and drills in the vehicle sectors don't really count.'_

_THU- THUNK._ She took great care in making sure not to smash the rooftop of the building in landing.

"We— well…" Urara huffed. "We're here."

"Yeah." Reisen leaned back in her seat, and looked back at Urara. "...Thanks."

"No prob." Urara smiled. "You did too much for me to just turn my back on you. I got myself an alibi and everything. You did a real good job spooking me into helping you, huh."

Reisen snorted. "Sure did. Promised you all the Earth doubloons I could find, after I—... did whatever."

...For a moment, they both quietly sat in the tank.

_vrm- vrm._ It powered off, at Reisen's behest.

"What're you gonna do?" Urara stared at the dark controls before herself. "...There's nowhere on the moon that's safe for you. If you leave HEDGE and just roam the countryside… like, what then? You'll run out of ammo and strength, eventually."

Reisen thought on that.

'_...I'm putting my faith in what NotYagokoro said, because I'm dead to rights otherwise. And, if it lets me flip off Yorihime on the way out, that's even better. I'm not letting myself just get pinched out.'_

"I think I'll be okay." Reisen smiled at her. "...But, if I never see you again… thank you. Thank you again, that is."

With that, Reisen crawled from her seat, across the rest of the interior hull.

Two of the tank's slots were still occupied by the now disabled turrets. But, the third near Urara was still open; the tank didn't need to be powered on again to be left.

Urara's eyes met Reisen's, as she raised from her seat, too. "I— I wanna go with you."

Reisen softly delivered a palm chop against the left of Urara's neck. "Don't be stupid. This is my problem."

"It's not gotta be just yours." Urara insisted.

"In the end, it will be." Reisen refused. "...It'd really _suck_ if you died with me, at the end of all this. So, don't. Go live. I don't think even the chicks at HEDGE will be able to keep to my side, by the end. I don't say that lightly. While they aren't tactical _geniuses_, by any degree, they're damn strong."

Urara grimaced, and got out of her seat fully, now. "But—... but _captain._ But Reisen—"

"I know you're probably excited." Reisen met her wild eyes with flat ones. "I know this is probably just as exciting as the day I got thrown in to shake up this little shitshow of a sector. And—... it's hard for me to say it, but if I was you, I'd leap at the opportunity to throw my life away in a situation like this."

Reisen searched the sides of the seat near Urara, finding Heavy Claw and its revolver.

Taking both the revolver of Heavy Claw, and Asclepius, she slid them both inside her suit, on different sides.

_Cla- clack, clack._ She hoisted Apollo and Heavy Claw up onto either shoulder. '_Together, though— they weigh a fuckin' ton…!'_

Her eyes met Urara's frowning face. "Why do you want me to stay, then?" Urara took this moment to respond. "Let me come die with you."

"Idiot." Reisen rolled her eyes. "You haven't done half the shit I have. You haven't lived my life. And, I think cleaning up the shitshow in my absence'll be a pretty good wakeup call for you. You're the captain of a big name sector. It's time to start acting like one."

"Then— what're _you?"_ Urara's expression conveyed nothing particular, just disarray. "If not a captain?"

Reisen snorted, and grinned, hefting up both shoulder cannons. "I'm a lunatic."

\= Lunaria =/

Reisen stepped aboard the automated transfer ship, with both bigass guns.

'_No other passengers onboard today. Wonder why.'_

_Di~ng._ The padded, rubber floor of the transfer ship let out a gritty, electrical chime, as the glass sliding door behind Reisen slid shut.

It was sort of like a train car, Reisen supposed. It was styled like on on purpose, although it worked more like a ski-lift, or a hover car.

She stepped into the middle of the cart. Rows of seats lined the wall on either side, and an oddly minimal pilot console sat ahead.

"_Thank you for riding kh_k_kk_kh—"_ The automated speaker of the cart had no address for the company who had current sponsorship of it, apparently. "_Next destination— _Apollo."

...Reisen licked her lips, nodding at the oddly different, unique voice that said the last line. '_Well, that's a good sign, I'm sure.'_

_Vuu~m._ With that, the cart began to rotate and ascend, then accelerate.

These carts had the capability to bypass the immense barriers that sat in the skies of the various sectors, to keep one another apart. This was made easier by the fact the physical aspects of the barriers grew exponentially weaker the higher one went.

The topmost layers of barrier were just to maintain atmosphere and weather conditions. The lower levels were meant to also do that, but also to stop desertion and cross-sector, unauthorized mingling dead in its tracks.

Reisen watched the metal grey ambient of A-2-B become vague, as her cart neared the edge of its barrier.

Soundlessly, smoothly, the cart passed right through. There was a wild forest of minor greenery between four sectors below, a vibrant pink barrier holding it hostage, seemingly.

'_Oxygen farm. Just in case anything happened to the agriculture sectors. Seems redundant, with the capital's greenery, but they probably have like… air aristocracy, or something comically stupid like that. Like it'd be beneath them to breathe on the same air network, or something.'_

She passed over many familiar sights. The cart drifted over a sector with a wealth of water, and one main island in the midst; sector BE-4-CH. _'This place used to have such a punkass military. Wonder if I can see the new naval crafts they ordered from here…'_

After it passed over the blue sights, it exited the near-invisible barrier again. '_I wonder what an earthling would think, crossing in and out of atmospheres so easily…?'_

Next was a wide, arctic wasteland, beset with stout buildings with slanted, ramp-shaped concrete roofs.

Reisen felt ice cold, even while inside the cart. '_Oh, fuck this place.'_ This was sector N-2-10. While heat was pumped into BE-4-CH and it was a mostly entertainment-centered sector, cold was distributed in uneven quantities here.

At the same time, it was mostly industrial, and had a well-balanced mix of technology, manufactory, and some cold-exclusive activities, like ice cream production, mass food preservation, among other icy crafts.

'_It's cold as shit here, and everything looks grey or white. My body's already stopped being used to the irregular cold here. Everyone here was pretty cool—... pun unin-fucking-tended.'_

When the cart left the airspace of N-2-10, Reisen relaxed.

Her gaze was greeted by the lush green of FAR-5, while she moved to find a seat, finally. '_No use standing around…'_

This sector had an emulated day-night cycle, created by two massively powerful, adamantite-laden bases at either end of the sector. They drew a solar ring, by which a searing red energy hung over the farmland at intervals faster than an Earth day by one third.

'_The girls and guys here were fucking kooks.'_ Reisen reflected. '_Never got almost raped so many times before in my life. Everyone was really down to earth—... in the actual sense, not in the pun sense. Fuck.'_

'_...Next to the breeding sector, that is. That place probably still doesn't have a functioning military. That was a disaster. I don't imagine how anyone is actually still alive there. I still don't know how I got promoted to captain, there. Maybe someone took pity on me and forced it to be so.'_

Leaving the air of FAR-5, Reisen scanned the stars in the air over the moon for the brief moment she could.

Next, she passed over 34-GER. '_Oh, this place.'_

This was the first place Reisen had duty at. It was a relatively small, concrete compound placed upon mildly rocky terrain. There was a small suburb along the sector's right, a beach to the left, and the midst was ugly but lush generic greenery.

'_...Pretty balanced sector, overall. I heard when the society was first expanding, this was one of the first outbound sectors really made. It was made to be an outpost sort of thing, but ended up more as a bland no man's land in the midst of the empire.'_

'_This was also where I learned the foundations of what I knew about military and guns. Wonder if anyone there remembers me. I remember meeting Urara there, actually. Never really figured out how they parse recruits and shit there. It was pretty much boot camp.'_

The cart swayed out of the boundaries of 34-GER, continuing to glide forward along the lunar midday.

\= Lunaria =/

Reisen's head perked up. "Nnh…"

'_Ah, must've dozed a bit. Didn't get a lotta sleep last night, after all. Wonder if my eyes are still red. Haha.'_

She looked up, noticing the cart leave the boundaries of another sector.

'_Oh, woah.'_

It was now lowering over the walls of one of the lunar society's actual, most outbound sectors. This was how it was for awhile, now.

Along the green, forest and beach accented coastline towards the Sea of Tranquility, there was a plain of brown and grey rock, concrete fortresses, mobile metal strongholds and eternal starlight.

This was H-79-Edge. It was aptly named, because it was on the edge in about four or five different ways.

'_Edge of the atmosphere, edge of the coastline, edge of the society, everyone's seriously on fuckin' edge, and everyone's edgy. Maybe everyone's got an edge in combat, too. Maybe all their guns have excessive edges, too._

_woosh._ Reisen heard the cart begin to lower. '_Oh- this landing was not programmed well-_'

_Thu- thunk- bam!_ The cart landed hard against uneven, barren rock.

Reisen was shaken, but only slightly. '_Ah, right. There was a yellow keycard, in here. Oh.'_

The keycard was hanging from a chain, on the front console. Normally, cars like these would separate civilian and pilot seating. '_This must be a particularly old model.'_

Snatching the yellow keycard and pocketing it, Reisen hoisted both Apollo and Heavy Claw up. '_Alright. Here I am.'_

'_...NotYagokoro said this key leads to a tank. Better be a damn good one.'_

Reisen moved for the cart door.

"_You have arrived at- _Exercise caution. Refrain from engaging outside of your vehicle. Ask the captain where the hanger is."

'_Who the hell is that? And— thanks, I guess.'_

_Shoo~f._ The cart door opened. The different atmospheres between the inside and outside fought one another briefly, a shock of wind and fog snapping the doors wide open.

Reisen stepped through the vapor and strange air.

H-79-Edge was a—

"_He~y there, _captain shortstu~ff!" Reisen's thoughts were interrupted by a boisterous woman.

'_Oh shit—'_

Suddenly, Reisen was hoisted up, off her boots.

"Wha— _hey—...!"_ Reisen took deliberation in not accidentally shooting her huge guns, as the huge bunny girl squeezed onto her. "_Unh…!"_

"Hehehe…" The vaguely tan, teal-haired woman beamed down at Reisen. "You're lucky I wasn't one of the guys. Your guard was down."

"I— wasn't expecting to get glomped by a behemoth…!" Reisen returned. "Let _go_ a' me—"

The current standing captain of H-79-Edge let go of her, and she flopped back onto her butt. "Unh."

"Anyway!" The woman gave Reisen a huge thumbs-up, already clad in torso-protecting, green-tinted metal armor. "I heard you were in deep shit!"

"Ye— yeah…" Standing back up, Reisen reaffirmed her hold on her two guns. "You know where the tank is?"

She beamed. "...To the point, huh? That _was_ always how ya were. Alright— c'mon!"

_Woosh!_ The eight foot tall girl bolted down the rocky terrain, the uneven ground under her coming apart like gravel, barely impeding her.

_Cla- clack- crunch- clack!_ Reisen bolted after her long strides, only barely falling behind. '_Been awhile— since I had to keep up with one of them…! Run a little slower, damn it!'_

H-79-Edge was an exclusively military-focused sector. While the main 'sector' itself was settled in a rocky wasteland with only bare essential atmosphere, the influence of the units here was also extended to the lush, sometimes harsh land that surrounded the Sea of Tranquility.

Bleak, copper-colored light posts cast the evening rocky worldscape with dazzling, trashy but pure light.

"Hfuh- nnh…!" Reisen and the new captain sprinted with speed far beyond that of a human's, crossing the cracked land in moments. Reisen's eyes were drawn by the familiar, lone lights that barely cast coverage over even a tenth of the lunarscape.

This land was one of the closest points to the 'scientific version' of the moon; the alternate, inhabitable and lifeless landscape of darkness and rock which was exposed to the Earth and its inhabitants.

This land was also a launching pad for greater defense satellites, heavy rockets, and anything that was too much for a pre-built landing pad to be feasibly made elsewhere.

_VRUU~M._ Reisen and the captain sprinted aside a treaded vehicle, which had a heavy, hole-clad barrel pointing from the top cannon. '_Oh— fuck, they really did buy the flamethrower turret models…'_

Atop the turret, another eight foot tall bunny woman gazed down, watching the two run. Her hair was long, black and messy, her skin pale as snow.

'_...Now I might understand why all the armor around here's colored green. It was an HR decision, so it's probably based on the emerald sentinels. I'm pretty sure a single one of these soldiers here could one-on-one a sentinel suit, though.'_

The captain stopped at a shut, 'reinforced' metal door. It was held in place by duct tape and energy tethers.

_WHABAM- CLACK!_ The captain kicked it dead in the center, and it flew inside, all bonds breaking, bouncing off of the many-times dented tile floor inside.

"So, Chihoko…" Reisen exhaled, catching up. "What're the troops up to, today?" She had a suspicion…

Captain Chihoko— or 'AmazonGoddess69' faced her. "We're gearin' up, ta help _you!"_

Reisen smiled. "...Yeah— you know who we're gonna be fighting?"

"Honestly, not 'xactly!" Chihoko lumbered into the base.

"It's Yorihime— and probably whatever backup she brings!" Reisen jogged after her. "They're gonna be _pissed_ too, if you actually make a dent—"

"Even better!" Chihoko knew no fear. "I wanna see what pretty boys the _capital's_ gotta offer! An' stompin' _Yorihime's_ face'll be even better!"

As they stomped through the metal and concrete facility, they passed by a common room. "Hey, guys!" Chihoko waved deeper into the room, as she passed along the doors near its far edge. "Action—... soon! Get yer asses in gear!"

The big men at the table glanced over at them, and were suddenly invigorated, dropping playing cards and various knickknacks. "_Oh shit! _Reisen's _back!"_

"We're actually _fuckin'_ doin' it!"

"She's still so _little—_ and fuckin' _cute!"_

"Holy _shit,_ she brought _real guns_ this time, too!"

'_The pleasure districts love these guys—... and, occasionally the women too.'_

Everyone at H-79-Edge was pretty huge, compared to the rest of the populace. Reisen wasn't ever really sure of _why_, either. '_Probably some kind of genetic modification for the environment, or isolated evolution. History's kept locked in the capital, so the only thing us rabbits usually have to go on is word of mouth. Same with how these guys from the arctic places have more body hair, and the ones in the desert sector have darker skin and less hair.'_

Additionally, they had more rights to cross-sector transportation than most bunny citizens, too. '_Probably because they hold what we'd consider contested grounds, even if there's nothing else on our planet to contest them.'_

They weaved through messy, damaged halls, and came to an uneven metal stairway down.

_thunk, thunk, thunk._ Chihoko took care in not destroying the thin steel steps on her way down, as Reisen plainly followed her. "Alright… shit's over here."

On the smooth stone floor, a tank sat. The roof was buried in brown rock, and there seemed to be no way for vehicles to actually access this room.

"When'd _this_ get here?" Reisen sized up the huge, seemingly alien tank…

The architecture of it was similar to Apollo and Asclepius. A huge, pointy gold tip sat atop the tank in the place of where an actual cannon would be, and instead of subscribing to the idea of 'hull and treads', it had an odd, X-shaped design.

Four glass orbs sat at the tip of each limb of the machine. Revolving platinum rings orbited around them idly, alive with teal, lunar energy.

"I got no fuckin' clue." Chihoko grinned, shaking her head. "Nothin' on the radars, no physical disturbance, nothin'. Literally just popped into the most useless room in the entire goddamn base. Even better, not even the brainy dudes can figure out the fuck this tank's doin'."

'_...Huh.'_

"What's it called? If y'know." Reisen began to move towards it, staying clear of the energy catalyzing hover devices on each limb.

"...S'got text on it reading _Coronis."_ Chihoko provided. "Metal on it's all _old as ass,_ but somehow real new."

'_Coronis…'_ Reisen was reminded of her weapons, Apollo and Asclepius. '_Why the hell're we such big fans of the greeks?'_

_Clack!_ Reisen leapt onto the top of the tank.

'_...How the fuck do you get in it.'_

Then, she saw it. There was a keycard slot fixed shabbily on top of the golden spike perhaps-a-cannon turret.

"Dude— we tried _so_ many damn keycards." Chihoko sauntered up, shaking her head as she saw Reisen stare down at it. "We even tried ta make _new ones_ an' _bypassers—_ but it won't give. Pretty sure it's just busted."

..._clack._ Reisen sat Heavy Claw down, and searched her suit.

Taking out the yellow— partially gold— keycard, she slid it into the slot atop the tank.

_Clank._ Suddenly, the keycard slot was ejected altogether, revealing unscathed gold beneath it.

_VRRRR~._ The gold 'cannon' on top began to raise. '_Oh— holy shit!'_

Reisen stepped back, watching it ascend. Seams of teal light revealed the bond between the hull and the cannon, as the cannon literally disengaged from the hull entirely, floating freely.

The interior hull was more like a cockpit. It had two very convenient slots for shoulder-mounted weaponry, and was lined with some kind of dim gold; dim only because of how dark the interior was in general.

Very clean, very basic interfaces popped into the air around the craft's interior. '_...Looks like very basic operating system prompts. Like—... very, very basic. How old is this thing?'_

"What the _fuck."_ Chihoko's brows raised. "...What'd ya _do._ Y'know what- I don't even _wanna_ know."

Reisen grinned, and lifted Heavy Claw from the ground…

_Thunk, thunk._ Sliding it into the rightmost gun slot— an uneven, terrible fit— she began trying to sit down…

_Click._ Apollo slid flawlessly into the left slot, like it was made for it. '_Oh, damn.'_

With that, Reisen sat in her seat fully. '_...How's this so comfy, though?'_

The controls looked basic enough, by comparison to a tank's normal layout. '_Less buttons and switches, more… weird geometric bullshit.'_

'_But, that looks like the movement module. Is this the targeting stick?'_

_Vrr- vrrr._ The long, golden spike atop the floating turret piece, began to wiggle.

'_Alright, things haven't changed all that much. It's probably missing some convenience features, but whatever.'_

_Fwip._ As Chihiko leaned over the hull, a hologram flickered into life, from a silver ball in the midst of the control panel. '_Oh?'_

There was a woman there, the hologram only large enough to be held in the palm of Reisen's hand.

Her dress was navy blue and royal red, and she wore a similarly colored nurse hat. She had long, silver hair done in a braid along her back, too.

Her dress beared a simple design; the upper left and lower right were red, whereas the lower left and upper right were blue.

'_She's—...'_ Reisen recognized this woman. It was impossible not to, all things considered.

"_Hello."_ Eirin Yagokoro gave Reisen a nod through the hologram. _"...Chances are, if you're listening to this, you are Reisen, circa nineteen sixty nine. I'd like to commend you for making it here, not that it was any uncertainty."_

Reisen blinked. '_Awfully sure of her deduction, there… but— holy shit. It's the founder of our goddamn society.'_

"_You'll find that the tank has been calibrated in a way you may be familiar with."_ Eirin spoke. _"Additionally, it has an independent module, which projects liveable atmosphere, should you ever find yourself outside the tank, on the scientific side of the moon."_

Eirin took a brief pause, before speaking again. _"I'm sure you've met with Sagume, already. Coronis is modified with a vastly amplified shield, that will make your tank viable for hyper-aggressive combat and distraction. In truth, that cannon at the top, while viable against all kinds of targets, takes time to prepare. The soldiers at H-79-Edge will protect you from Lunaria's most statistically powerful infantry."_

_Cla- clack!_ Chihiko leaned on the side of Coronis, intently watching. "What— stronger than _us?_ Yer _jokin'!"_

"_These infantry will approach you in small trickles."_ Eirin communicated further. _"Once Yorihime realizes you aren't alone, she and her team of soldiers will close in."_

"_The units of H-79-Edge will have to engage these soldiers all-against one. Each of the capital's true soldiers are an advanced form of bunny soldier; a concept bounced around for quite some time, that is likely seeing true realization… about now. _

"_Their aim is beyond accuracy. Their endurance rivals tanks, their agility is beyond machine, and their will is specifically crafted. Their only weakness is a complete lack of circumstantial understanding. Or, rather… they are easy to trick."_

'_So, mini-Yorihimes. Good.'_

"...We'll hafta use our old _jungle tactics,_ then." Chihiko decided. "How—"

"_You may either tactically take them out with trickery, ambush tactics, or rush down each individual soldier with every unit at once. If you do the latter, make it quick and sudden; they have both complicated self-destruction protocol which rival missiles, and they may emit signals which confuse infantry."_

...After another moment, Eirin continued. "_They will use standard plasma rifles, as well as replica models of Apollo and Asclepius. Yes, Reisen; their behavior in combat is similar to yours."_

'_Wait, what?'_

"This won't be _too bad,_ then." Chihiko smirked, folding her arms against the rim of the hull's entrance.

"_I suggest letting Reisen lead with her tank Coronis, and the rest will follow around or behind, and interject to capitalize on distracted soldiers. Coronis can take most if not all of the abuse of a couple targets with no negative consequence. Reisen, don't leave your tank, unless you believe you really, really must. Do not forget, that the loss condition is your death, and failure to elude Yorihime here._

"_You must activate the escape vehicle."_

'_How will I know it when I see it?'_

Immediately, her question was answered. _"It is a grey, pod-like craft. You will find it, if you find Yorihime. Prioritize survival."_

...Reisen nodded. "Aa— alright. Is that all, then?"

"_With that…"_ Eirin seemed to conclude her instructions. _"I wish you luck. A soldier like you only blooms once in many years. I ask that you remember, that this battle will be one bigger than yourself. I apologize for placing this pressure on you. However… it is necessity. As a soldier, this is your duty."_

"_Good luck."_

_fwip._ The hologram fizzled out. Reisen was left blinking. '_The old lighting they used for those holograms hurts the eyes. Wait—... how old was that message? Or— was that a message, or a relay? Ah, whatever.'_

"Well." Chihiko patted the side of the tank loudly. "...Not sure how the fuck yer gonna get this outta this sealed room, but we'll be waitin' for ya outside. Goddamn, message from _Lady Yagokoro._"

Reisen gave her a nod. "...I'll find a way."

'_This tank's a literal gift from fucking god, it better be able to bust out of a sealed room.'_

With that, Chihiko roared off, engaging her muscles—

_CHUNK!_ She forgot to be gentle with the stairs, breaking a mid-step with a stomp. "Ahw— _shit."_

Reisen withheld a chuckle. '_Fuckin'...'_

\= Lunaria =/

On the rocky yard of H-79-Edge, women and men stood, with massive weapons wielded.

"_Nn~h."_ A man with short, fair blue hair stretched, his triple-fire rocket launcher forcing his shoulder to sag. "When the hell're we _movin'?"_

The woman with wild, black hair grinned at the stars above. She had a minigun held with both arms. "Whenever Chihiko gets her ass out here."

"Ha~h." A nimbler, orange-white haired man clapped his hands together. "I'm ready t'get this shit rollin'. What the hell was it we were doin' again?"

Chihiko ran outside, hoisting her huge, shoulder-mounted rocket launcher up. _"Alright!_ Are we all _fuckin' ready, shitheads!?"_

"_Huu~!"_

"_Yeah!"_

"'Bout fuckin' _time!"_

"Let's rip their _goddamn _arms off!"

Chihiko flicked her gaze to the tanks. There were two light tanks; one with a mounted flamethrower, and one with a gatling gun.

_vhoosh._ That's when Reisen's tank passed up through the floor around the base, translucent and ethereal.

'_What—...'_ Reisen stared around inside, eyes wide. '_This is some manga bullshit. Aa—'_

_fli- flick._ It flickered back into materiality—

_CLANK!_ The X-shaped tank landed hard on the rocks, its powerful, amber energy shield flaring to life to defend it.

'_...Well, I got out of the basement, and managed not to sink into the ground. Probably won't be using that too too often…'_

"..._What_ the _fuck_ is that!" One of the men yelled.

"That's our defense target!" Chihiko exclaimed. "...Which means we _don't_ shoot at it! Other bastards'll be shootin' at it— we gotta shoot at _those_ guys!"

'_I never really thought about it, but Chihiko's probably got her hands full. Especially 'cause essentially nobody here knows anything about authority beyond beating eachother the hell up.'_

_Vuu~m._ Reisen drove her hovercraft past their offensive line, gold bolt cannon aimed forward.

"Oh!" Chihiko realized something. "...Reisen's drivin' it, by the way! So don't let it explode!"

"Ooh— shit!"

"Awh, _hell yeah! _We're gonna fight wit' _Reisen!"_

"So, that _was_ Reisen…" The wild, black-haired woman beamed. "Bitch shoulda paid 'er respects."

"Aah, I'll shove yer spinny gun up yer cunt." Chihiko waved her off. "If anyone's gotta pay respects, it'll be the bitchass pretty boys we'll be fightin'."

'_Overall, they still prefer someone like me, who actually did something for them. Versus the people from the capital, who've done nothing for them, and think themselves better than them. And, honestly, they're really not justified in thinking so— the people at the capital, that is.'_

"Alright!" Chihiko moved to run along Reisen's craft. "Y'better be _ready~!_ Let's _go!"_

'_Let's see how this turns out…'_

_Vuu~m._ Reisen's Coronis hummed as it drifted forward, over the rocky ground. The treads of the two light tanks followed soon after, and all the huge warriors of H-79-Edge spread out, covering more ground.

_\=\= Lunaria Outskirts_

'_Oh, right. This place also has a hedge-like bunch of forests ahead of it, before the actual Sea of Tranquility. I assume when we reach the shore, Yorihime will just be there.'_

Reisen guided Coronis past thin, lunar greenery and trees. The astral, blue-but-starry sky glowed above, conveying the odd state of this whole half of the moon.

They were officially outside Lunar society; navigating through the bare hedges that lead into the great nothing that was the light side of the moon.

'_Wonder when we'll see activity…'_

"_Ah—... yo~."_ Chihiko was heard over communications. A ring-like, pixelated hologram came up from the silver ball in the midst of the control panel, like a visualizer. "_You hear me, Reisen?"_

"Crystal." Reisen nodded, before realizing she couldn't be seen.

'_...Not sure what this visualizer is supposed to demonstrate, but I'm sure it does it splendidly.'_

"_Alright."_ Chihiko continued, the visualizer for her voice booming from how loud she must've been talking. _"We got contact on radars. Someone's coming straight this way. We're gonna flank either side; you just keep on' keepin' on, alright?"_

"Roger." Reisen nodded to herself again.

"_...My name ain't Roger!"_

Reisen glared back at the visualizer. "That's _military slang _for '_okay'_, ya _musclehead."_

"_Hehehe!"_

...That's when a pair of blue, neutral eyes was visible through the layer of trees and brush ahead.

_Vuu~m._ Coronis bobbed along the terrain, slowing before the figure ahead.

He was a young-looking boy, with fair silver hair. His eyes glowed bright blue, as he gazed along the hull of Coronis.

He didn't move as the tank stopped a hair before him. Metal parts stuck out from his cheeks; small, smooth wedges of chrome.

"_Reisen?"_ He spoke aloud, telekinetically, and over the radio intercom in the tank at the same time.

...Grinning, Reisen looked around, before simply speaking aloud, and relaying her thoughts. _"If I was? Also—... I wouldn't imagine there's any way to bribe ya? How about that, uh… Finest Fantasy 14 game? That's the new one, right?"_

"_Your contract has expired."_ He declared. _"Leave the vehicle, surrender your weapons, and follow me. Do not think twice."_

Reisen wasn't sure if he even heard her. _"...How about I don't."_

"_Your soul belongs to Lady Yorihime."_

Reisen snorted. _"...I don't think so."_

"_Then, your service is no longer required."_ The boy aimed his regular plasma rifle at the dead front of the tank, like it was a threat. "_Sleep in fire."_

"_Now?" _Chihiko asked.

"Yeah." Reisen spoke only over the comms.

The bunny woman with the wild, black hair stood from a bush nearby, her minigun aimed at the boy.

_FWA- CHUCHUCHUCHU!_ He unloaded his plasma rifle into the tank's front, as if it were a threat to it, drilling into the great amber energy shield.

_rrrrRRRR!_ The black-haired bunny's minigun revved up, and—

_RATATATATATAT!_ It unloaded in a small cone towards the blue-eyed boy.

_FWISH- SPLASPLASPLACK!_ His shield broke instantly. Eyes wide, he looked in the direction of the minigun bullets, as they blew through his body.

Gallons of blood sprayed back, mixed with black. '_He's leaking oil…? And— a lot of other shit, actually.'_

_WHAM- BOOM- BOOM- BOOM!_ A triple salvo of rockets came down from the treetops nearby, blowing him off his feet-

_PATATATATATAT!_ A ballistic rifle salvo came from another angle-

_click!_ A wirenet landed on him—

"_Rrgh— haa—"_ Despite all the bullets and blasts, he fought onto his feet faster than the human eye could see, as the bullets tore his body every which way.

He had a copy of Apollo all of a sudden, summoned from nowhere. It was grey and white, made only of steel and fitted with emerald accents.

_FWR- WHOAA~SH!_ With no warning, a huge, emerald laser roared into the trees nearby; it was a hyper beam, illuminating the entire forest floor.

_RATATATATATAT! "Haa~h!"_ The black-haired woman beamed wickedly, still pouring shots in.

_WHAM- BOOM- BOOM- BOOM! FWI- BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!_ Chihiko and another bunny unloaded their rocket launchers into him at the same time, tossing him around in place, as he was caught in the wire net.

"_Rr— nha— uuh— anh— ogh—"_ Geysers of blood and electricity exploded, bursting from the boy, yet his body held on, far far beyond the capability of a mortal vessel.

_KABOOM- FWOOSH!_ His lower half exploded off, and he fell forward as just a torso.

"_SYST— SYSTEM—"_ He monotoned. "_CALLING FOR UNITS. CRITICAL REACTOR FAILURE…"_

Reisen backed up. '_Let's remember what Yagokoro said…'_

Then, from him came a noise that couldn't be described.

'_Mm— today—... the— the controls—'_ Reisen pulled back on the main levers as hard as she could. '_Wh— where am I…?'_

_RATATATAT- RATATAT!_ _"Hahaha~!"_ The black-haired woman shot her minigun into the sky—

"_Yo!"_ Chihiko was still together. _"Reisen- you holdin' on!?"_

"I—..." Reisen blinked owlishly.

Then, a flash of white.

_...boom._ Reisen heard the sound of the explosion a moment later. The boy was nothing but gears, steel plates and enough blood, oil, miasma and discharge to create a miniature lake.

Reisen's ears stopped ringing. '_Ho— holy shit. Today's—... right. Holy shit. That— was like my life just flashed before my eyes. I forgot who I was, for a second. Yeah, 'confusing waves' indeed. What the fuck?'_

"_...Alright!"_ A guy yelled over the comms. "_Next time tha' happens, hold ya breath and count ta ten!"_

'_...I— I wonder if it hardly works on them, 'cause they barely have it all together to begin with.'_

_Vuu~m._ Reisen coasted her tank ahead, moving past the lake of fluid and miasmic, black gas.

Then, she left the woods, pushing through the dense trees, into a clearing with tall grass.

There were three more of these things.

"IDENTIFIED TARGETS: _TWENTY THREE_."

"TARGETS 20% METAL, 53% CARBON, 13.3% LUNAR EMISSION, 13.7% WATER. Hey guys— I found some ammo here!"

"REFINERY 0.8 KILOMETERS— I think there's a friendly sector nearby!"

Unlike the boys, they all had masks on; ones of cobalt plating that covered their whole face. Only slits revealed their piercing blue eyes.

Reisen drove straight for them. '_Might as well fucking run 'em over.'_

_FWA- CHUCHUCHUCHU!_ They unloaded their rifles straight at Reisen's tank without exchanging words.

_RATATATATATAT!_ Dual minigun fire from behind the tank roared ahead, meeting the faux bunny people.

Rockets, nets, bullets and grenades rained down, to blow away the blue-eyed bunnies—

Then, they moved to preserve themselves.

The leftmost machine snapped their waist around instantly, switching between fourteen targets at speeds that'd break a biological being's spine.

_BOOM- BOOM!_ In the wake of two blasts, one of them strafed around with what seemed like wasteful, lightning-fast footwork, waist snapping around with similar precision—

_Cli- cli- cli- click._ One of them— while caught in a net— drew a copy of Asclepius, loading it like Reisen would load her revolvers.

_BANG- BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG! _Then, it snapped its arm around like nothing, aiming at many targets.

"_Holy fucking shit!" _Chihiko hollered over the comms. _"Those shots— every one of them hit someone…!"_

'_And—... if everyone from HEDGE wasn't fuck-huge, those would've all been dead-on heart shots. What the fuck.'_ Instead of hearts, the shots hit thighs and guts.

Reisen's tank drove forward, to smoosh the jittery robot people.

The three spoke all at once. _"Hey—_ I'm hit! I'm— taking damage— _SOME ADVICE."_

"I'll cover you— PARSING UNEMPLOYMENT PROCEDURES— _YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN—"_

"I spotted one! _I WASN'T NICE._"

_FWI- FWISH-_ _shink, shink- WHISH!_ Barriers lit up all around them, some hexagonal, others with odd, Greek symbols. A reticle lit up around the one with the Asclepius copy drawn.

Reisen felt at the sticks that controlled her cannon. '_I'm going to have to shoot at them, and see what happens.'_

After pointing it, positioning the reticle, she pressed the stiff button on the aiming sticks.

_voo~m._ Slowly, the gold, wedge-like rod began to glow, charging with gold-teal energy.

"Hey— _fu~ckholes!"_ The black-haired woman slowly strafed along the clearing's side, her minigun drilling into their gold, red, blue and green-tinted energy barriers. "_Bolt bucke~ts!"_

"Just move around!" Chihiko was heard yelling. "They're— like, retarded! More than us!"

One of the capital cyborgs met her gaze.

Quietly, every cyborg's eyes lit up with red pinpricks.

"_LET'S REVIEW HOW YOU PERFORM."_

"WE ARE YOU— Brothers, sisters—"

"WE ARE THE NEXT GENERATION. Your services— _rugh—"_

They pressed out of their cylinder of a hundred barrier spells, a copy of Apollo upon each of their shoulders.

_FWOO- FWOO- FWOA~SH!_ Emerald mega-lasers roared into the woods in three different directions.

_KABOO~M!_ One of the cyborgs snapped ahead in a near instant, crushing a tree straight into the floor, splitting it into fragments by slinging Apollo down into it.

_BANG- BANG, BANG, BANG- _One of them was unloading Asclepius again, at the black-haired woman with the minigun—

_FWAP- FZZT- FZZT!_ An electric mortar met Reisen's tank, the balled lightning pulsing against her great amber shield. '_Holy shit…'_

_voooOOM._ The cannon atop Coronis was charged. '_Oh—'_

_KRAAA~NG!_ Then, an otherworldly grinding noise. The cyborg before Reisen lunged ahead, crushing Apollo straight down into Coronis. The amber energy shield exploded with energy, fighting against the deity-like strength of the machine.

"_Rhh—"_ Eight foot tall bunny soldiers ran around the clearing, firing rockets and rifles around, most riddled with at least one bullet wound.

Reisen felt the whole of Coronis shudder. '_Woah—'_

_**VRRRRR.**_ A thin, gradually expanding beam of white stretched forward.

_fzz- fzzt._ The cyborg caught in its shot simply fell over, limp, before anything had even happened yet.

The other two cyborgs immediately snapped their entire bodies to face the tank Coronis, in spite of whatever they were doing.

_thunk._ That's when a bunny guy tossed a wood box over one. "_Got 'em!"_

Then, Reisen felt a pulse. '_Oh— fuck— it's that confusing shit again—'_

But it didn't meet her head, in the end. '_...Um?'_

"_BELOVED LUNARIA"_ The leftmost cyborg, missing its mask and face, and the arm that'd hold Asclepius, saluted with its missing arm. _"STRIKING ORDER FIVE"_

"Oo— _ooh, fuck! Fuck!"_ One of the bunny men yelled over the network. "Everyone! Split the _fuck u~p! _It's calling in an _orbital stri~ke!"_

'_A what!? Here!? Over this!? Are you fu— what…!?'_

"He- hahaha~!" The person-like voice module on the cyborg laughed, reeling its body back, trying to convey an emotion as vividly as possible. "_Hahaha!_ That is funny! You're all good friends!"

Reisen looked up, where the upward camera of the tank would be.

In the deep blue sky over them, there was a pinprick of white light, brighter than the others. '_Ooh… fu~ck. Oh, gods. Those— we never even used those other than in field tests! This is fucked!'_

"_Everyone!"_ Reisen barked. "_Get the hell outta here!_ I— I can deal with this myself! Trust me!"

No one doubted her order, turning and sprinting into the woods in every direction.

As they ran off, the remaining cyborgs centered on the tank, saluting. "_YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN— I WASN'T NICE—"_

"Your contract has expired."

Reisen looked at the pale cyan orb on her right, inside her craft.

'_...Didn't wanna use that bullshit again, but against a goddamn orbital strike— just to kill me in particular— it seems pretty damn fair and convenient!'_

Then, Reisen heard it.

_**BOOM.**_ In the distance, a huge, yellow beam touched down. It was taller than any building made by man or lunarian, or any creature alive.

It came down kilometers from space. It was thin by galactic standards; but here, it was as wide as an apartment building, which made it seem absolutely massive.

Engaging the tank's thrusters so she wouldn't fall into the floor, Reisen pressed the lunar orb on her right. '_Time to—... ghost, or whatever the hell this tech is…'_

_vhoosh._ Her tank became immaterial, translucent and as the same color of the moon's energy; a bright teal.

Then, the huge, orbital beam eclipsed her position.

Reisen blinked, seeing inside of the ion cannon's beam. She was at the epicenter of the moon's most powerful weapon.

'_...Wow.'_

She felt weightless, staring into the straight, infinite light. The cyborgs around her were erased, nothing but volts and fire. The ground under her was drilled kilometers into the moon's surface.

She let her mouth go ajar, as she drifted in spite of the absolute power attempting to smite her.

Then, after an eternity of her vision being disoriented, it was over.

The ultramassive beam of undeniable destruction flickered out.

Under Reisen was a big, black pit straight into the moon. It'd probably take months to figure out how deep it really was.

Reisen hovered her tank forward, mouth small.

'_...Yeah. Good call, on my part. Anyone around for that would be erased from fucking reality. What a fucking weapon.'_

...Reisen shook her head. '_Too much weapon. We could instantly annihilate whole damn sectors with that. That's just—... that's too much. I like my big guns, but fuck.'_

_flick._ Her tank flickered back into being, as she landed on the other side of the great ditch.

'_...Better not be anymore of that shit. Pretty sure someone would smell the shit burning if the moon got fucking orbital ion struck twice in one fuckin' day.'_

Not far ahead of the ditch's rim, was the shore of the Sea of Tranquility. '_Wonder if that hole would've flooded if the ion strike was just a little further ahead…'_

≈ _Sea of Tranquility_

_vuu~m._ Reisen slowed her tank, near the shore of the Sea of Tranquility. Bright blue water shimmered ahead of her.

She sighed. '_...Is it time to start drivin' across the water? I guess so…'_

_thunk._ She tried to make her Coronis strafe right, but it bumped on something. '_Oh— the fuck?'_

She glanced at the right blindspot camera.

Yorihime stood there, gazing out at the water, her arms behind her back.

'_...Oh. She's just standing next to my tank, like we're watching the ocean together. Guess I'll bite__.'_

"...Hey." Reisen spoke through the comms, projecting her voice out.


	3. Tranquility

Yorihime stood there beside Reisen's lunarian relic tank Coronis, gazing out at the water. Her arms were behind her back, and her expression was level.

'_...Oh. She's just standing next to my tank, like we're watching the ocean together. Guess I'll bite.'_

"...Hey." Reisen spoke through the comms, projecting her voice out.

Yorihime blinked. She adjusted her hair, parting some of it from her face, and keeping it in place, against the strong gales that raced around the Sea of Tranquility itself.

"Hello, Reisen." She finally responded. "...I suppose I'm not surprised you survived that."

"Did you plan on that?" Reisen wanted to shoot her in the face.

"No." Yorihime clarified. "I'd have appreciated if it were successful, however."

Reisen actually stopped at that.

"I wouldn't have had to face your death myself." Yorihime gazed up at the ever-cloudless sky. "But… it seems my mentor wishes to teach me a harsh lesson. That could be the only reason, she gave you such sacred technology. Her creations, bestowed onto a disgrace such as yourself."

"Hey, Yorihime." Reisen spoke up. "How's about you pull the sheath outta your ass?"

Yorihime snorted. "Insults get you nowhere."

"My point being, that you're fucking conceited." Reisen clarified her intent. "I just want you to know that. You're like—... I've met my share of assholes. You know where you sent me, you know I met my share of assholes. You know who's also an asshole? You. _You're _an asshole."

Shaking her head, Yorihime held up her arms. "Reisen. Reisen… you just don't _understand._ And, that's okay. I don't expect you to understand."

'_Not really helping your argument here…!'_ Reisen grinned intensely, knowing Yorihime couldn't see her behind the tank's walls.

"Matters of Lunaria are simply beyond bunnies." Yorihime declared confidently. "You have shown me that. Not just you, but every sector you have ever visited, has shown me that. When I was younger, or rather, less wise, I went on a journey, much like you did."

'_Fat lot of good that did you.'_

"This is why I sent you on your journey." Yorihime affectionately caressed the side of Reisen's tank, for some indiscernible reason. "My wish… was that you would see what I saw. That you would take a stride above your species. So that you could be the next generation."

'_That… reminds me.'_ Reisen remembered those cyborgs. '_Wait—'_

"Those ones you saw…" Yorihime spoke of them, too. "Those Darksides. They're incomplete. I'm not sure if you'd have noticed… but, I made them fight like _you._ And, once I was confident of the person you were… I was going to make them all like you, too. That's why they didn't seem like they had a personality."

'_...This is—... wha~t, the fuck.'_

"And yet… it wasn't meant to be, I guess." Yorihime shook her head. "I'm sorry, Reisen. For getting your hopes up. For forcing something incomprehensible onto you."

'_...I never thought my slightly bitter outlook on her would mutate into something like this. This just makes me look back—... back when I was a kid, and they both really, really loved me. Why are you so… stupid, Yorihime?'_

'_Why is this happening?'_

"So, Reisen…" Yorihime gazed along the hull of Coronis. "What do you say?"

'_I just want… to fucking relax.'_

'_I'm so fucking done with this. All of this…'_

'_Goddammit!'_

"Will you let me put you down?" Yorihime gave her offer with confidence. There was no reluctance.

"...Do you realize, what you're saying?" Reisen wasn't going to let the conversation end here. Not by a long shot. "Do you _actually_ put _any_ _fucking thought,_ into any goddamned— _retarded_ thing you say?"

"Tsk." Yorihime shook her head, again. "Always quick to anger. I don't remember you being—"

"No. _No!"_ Reisen yelled back, over the intercom. "Whatever _reason you have—_ just _think._ What if you were _wrong!?_ Have you ever acknowledged, that you were _wrong_ before!?"

"Of course." Yorihime frowned, facing away defensively. "What leader would I be, without humility? I simply know a lot. It is rule of thumb; lunar rabbits have less growth than Lunarians. Aside from our difference in age, they are raised in isolated sectors, with minimized educational facilities, for specific purposes. How could anyone meaningful be created from that?"

"How could _Yagokoro_ teach someone so _meaningless?"_ Reisen returned.

...When Yorihime said nothing back, Reisen continued. "While their living conditions are rougher, there's wisdom to be found. There's idiots, there's assholes, there's the whole—_ collection_ of unlikeable, or at least _people you can't hang out around_— kind of people. I don't think that's unique to lunar rabbits _or_ Lunarians."

"You know so little of us." Yorihime shook her head. "How can you say that so confidently?"

"Because _you_ are a person, Yorihime." Reisen grinned to herself. "...And even idiots can teach you a thing, or two. No one knows everything."

"I would bet my mentor does."

Reisen frowned. "I bet your mentor'd never say that, and would lay your ass out flat for being so greedy."

"You assume that I often assume, but you assume yourself."

"Alright." Reisen leaned back in her seat. "...What have I assumed? Or, do you want it the other way around? I can do both."

"Yes." Yorihime smiled. "Tell me _my_ faults, why don't you? You quite seem to like that."

"What do _you_ think they are? If you could think of any?" Reisen supposed.

...Yorihime took a good moment, to consider that. "For my confidence, you call me conceited. For your situation, you consider me cruel. ...I _have_ said, that you do not understand some things."

"I'm waiting." Reisen wanted to hear about those 'things'.

"...Well, if I must." Yorihime huffed. "I see it just that our society expands. Much of what I've done in recent years, has been me using what I know to further this. Right now, I was on my way to end this new Earth invasion."

"You've gone so far out of your way to oppose me, Reisen. As the one who will lead our empire to new heights, what do I say? What do I do? My feelings on the matter are naut. You do not have a place on the moon anymore.

"So, for Lunaria's sake, you die. And, with the lessons you leave, I will remember them when considering the further advancement of the lunar rabbit species."

Reisen sighed again, staring vexed down at the visualizer. '_Yorihime's… a real fucking piece of work.'_

"So." Reisen considered this. "I need to die, 'cause you superficially consider me some public enemy. All I've done is defend myself, and I don't know what the _hell_ these accusations are, but it was pretty damn telling how you turned on me _that very instant._"

Yorihime refused to listen. "I trust my betters."

'_But, your betters never trusted you. Or so it feels like.'_

"Once you are done, the invasion will begin." Yorihime supplied. "I cannot let personal obligations get in the way of what is to come."

"What's the big deal with _that?"_ Reisen tackled that point next. "Everyone knows Earth doesn't have shit on this place. But, we are in _no way_ ready to go stomping on idiots we don't understand, when we hardly understand what the hell is going on here."

"...That is false." Yorihime decided. "We know exactly what is going on here. It is what my mentor would have wanted."

Reisen clicked her tongue. "Tch. Like— do the people from Earth even know we're _here?_ Secrecy's worked so far. Why won't it now?"

"Because we will expand." Yorihime announced. "By my will, we will overcome the impurity of life, and increase our society's power. I believe it to be a challenge proposed by my mentor, who has placed herself amongst the impurity below. She is waiting for me, and the day our soldiers sweep life from that near planet."

"...Not on _my_ fucking watch." Reisen sat up in her tank straighter. "What a waste. And it's a _waste,_ because we've hardly got the social problems _here_ sorted out. You're a living example of that."

"Quit that." Yorihime commanded. "I exemplify none of your projection."

Reisen felt her adrenaline spike. "Aa— _Uh huh._ You went to _every_ sector, met _all_ those different people, and you can say, with total certainty, they're all beneath your _grand_ idea? They're all beneath this shitty progress that'd waste their lives? They're living people, with real problems. Problems created by the capital. Problems created by _you._"

Yorihime shook her head. "I don't—... Reisen, that is the _life_ of a _rabbit._"

"What the fuck does _that_ mean?" Reisen just looked confused. "Who gives a shit? They're people! Hell— this whole 'cyborg warfare' idea of yours would even make _more _problems! What're you going to do with all your 'obsolete soldiers', huh?"

...Yorihime tilted her head. "I'd considered the notion, as a passing thought. We would update them as we went, and those who could not be updated would, perhaps in minimal capacity, be restrained.

"The rest? I may leave that up to the council. It would be a bother, to let them infest and dwell where we may better optimize operation. Entire sectors could be minimized. I could see shutting down the irrelevant, humane-focused centers altogether, as they only waste air, energy and space."

Reisen snorted. "...And, I suppose you could create these soldiers faster than _lunar rabbits_ could breed?"

...Yorihime paused, before finding an answer. "No. During transitional periods, they would be useful, yes. But, such updated soldiers have far greater longevity than the current generation. You witnessed their power. Imagine fourteen of such infantry at your side? They would be free of errors in judgment, tactical masterminds, know the essence of taking risks in the name of Lunaria… and potentially, so much more."

"...I think it's fucked you'd throw out all those useful people." Reisen couldn't agree. "And how it's fucked—... we're not even _fighting an enemy._ We're not _desperate_ for firepower or extended-duration field soldiers; we wouldn't need any of that if you just held onto your fucking skirt and didn't start a retarded war for what is _basically_ no reason. Expansion is not a good reason, when we're _hardly _using the space we have here efficiently."

"Expansion is a perfect reason."

Yorihime stepped away from the tank, walking down the shore some. "You see. _This_ is what I suspected you would not understand. Such is why I _tried_ not wasting time telling it to you. Our society must become greater, and so, not only is our foe not worth personifying, our tools— the rabbits— are not either.

"I see my error, now. You have _empathized_ with those you've met."

Reisen spoke up quickly. "Everything would be running a whole lot fucking smoother if we fixed our shit here, at _home,_ and _then_ thought about expanding. I'm pretty sure there's a whole lotta other rocks of iron and shit in space, too. What happened to those?"

"Reisen—..." Yorihime let her head drop, shaking it again. "...While those _are_ valid locations— taking Earth is what we _must_ do!"

...Reisen took a deep breath.

"Lunar rabbits are smarter than you think." She leaned back in her seat. "They do more than you think. They got hobbies. They've got friends, lovers. Some are retarded. Some are cool. Some are really cool. Hey, if I ever got a husband, would you be all data analysis on him, too? What would he be, the optimal breeder, or some shit?"

Yorihime inhaled—

"Whatever the fuck we just fought didn't feel like that." Reisen shook her head. "They didn't have _soul._ And if they did, it wasn't life anyone could relate to. They operated on a routine. Maybe ideal for fighting a war, but—... living here isn't a _war._ Our people could have more. Our people could be comfortable."

Reisen thought back to the past few years of her life.

"...No one, should _have to_ vagabond like I did." Reisen decided. "I got used to it. But, you know how it felt? Not having a home? Getting thrust into a new environment, where everyone— at first— thinks fucking nothing of you? My home became what I had on my back. It became our computer network."

"You said you did what I did, yeah?" Reisen tilted her head back, as if Yorihime could see her. "...You sure what fucked you up wasn't _that?_ Being— essentially— fuckin' _homeless?_ Did you do that for years? What's _your_ education, then? Did it even _help?_ Yeah— quick, tell me the fuckin' favorite cereal of the ancient scholars, or whatever."

"Our _learning—_ it was before my journey." Yorihime interjected when she could.

"So you already had a thought, then." Reisen supposed. "A preconception. What'd you expect? You expect your trip to suck? Did it suck?"

"...That— goes without saying— I believe." Yorihime admitted.

"If your day one problem, was 'I'm surrounded by filthy moon rabbits', you did it wrong." Reisen decided. "You were doing it wrong. You ought to go fucking do it all again— and actually _pay attention_ this time. 'Cause if you saw it the way I saw it, this place would be amazing. You'd be a hero. That's a far greater service to Lunaria than your bullshit."

"...What's to say— that the _rabbits_ are our citizens?" Yorihime spoke back up—

"They're like _three-fourths of the fucking population._" Reisen grinned hard at the hologram before herself. "You better believe, I consider those hard-as-fuck workers more citizens than you bunch of superpowered do-nothings.

"And— let me tell you. The _only_ reason we look down at you, is because you get _hung up like this._ And by _you,_ we all mean _you,_ _you specifically, Yorihime._ Most of the capital, too. But, right now? All _you._"

...Yorihime gritted her teeth. "Reisen…"

"Yorihime…" Reisen gritted her teeth back. "You're missing the whole point… of a _society._ Can't we just— _live?_ Can't we just _fucking_ live?" She felt her eyes well, a little. "I— sure wish _I_ had a chance— to _fucking_ live. And I've met so many other people—... it's— it's— like you're not even thinking of them. There was no way you truly saw what I saw…"

Yorihime's head hung. "Reisen…"

"What?" Reisen glared down into the hologram. "What could you _possibly_ have to say?"

...Yorihime gazed ahead at Coronis.

"I guess—... I'm sorry." Yorihime offered. "...I'm sorry you felt that way. But—"

"_But."_ Reisen sneered. "Yeah. _But._ But— fucking _nothing._ I— I hate you, Yorihime. I fucking hate you…"

She shut her eyes, repressing a sob.

"Lunaria…" Yorihime's frown trembled. "I— I'm sorry, Reisen. But—..."

"Wh— what're you gonna do?" Reisen saw the hologram blur before herself, and blinked her eyes a few times.

'_...Those days we spent together… days I didn't know about computers, or guns. Where life was simple, and everyday was fun...'_

'_Why—... like this?' _She'd remembered her life, with Yorihime and Toyohime. _'Why's it all have to fall apart like this?'_

"...What you say—... it may be true." Yorihime exhaled hollowly, her throat hurting. "But—... for my mentor, for Lunaria— we— we need to _progress—_"

Reisen took a bet. "I— I bet your mentor left— 'cause of how much of a _clusterfuck_ this place is."

'_...I— just wish, I could go home. Fuck military honor. Fuck all of this grey, glowy—... stupid shit… I want to go home.'_

"Re— Reisen." Yorihime's left arm moved. "I can't say—... I can't say I understand. I can't say that I saw people in those you observed… even though I can see a person in you."

'_Th— that makes so little fucking sense… it's— it's because you're not paying attention...'_

Yorihime gulped. "I can feel your pain. You truly care for Lunaria."

"So… Reisen." Yorihime closed her eyes. "I want to comfort you."

"Just— fuck off." Reisen was done with her. "...I— I don't want to see you again."

"I can grant that wish." Kotohime's frown deepened. "It is all I can do, to apologize for what I must do. Your words do not fall on deaf ears."

"I just... wish you'd understand." Reisen had caught her composure. "I wish you'd understand."

"That they're people?" Yorihime's left arm was on her sheath. "...I may take your word for it. I may take your word for many things, here."

'_It's never that easy.'_

Reisen looked at the right camera. She saw Yorihime's hand on her sheath.

'_...She— still wants to just kill me. After hearing about all I went through, and how I felt.'_

"What do you want, Reisen?" Yorihime proposed an offer.

...Reisen swallowed. "T— to go home. I mi— missed you guys."

Yorihime opened her wet eyes. "...Wi— wish—... granted."

Reisen ducked down, out of Coronis' chair and into an awkward, inner space of the interior hull.

_SHING._ Yorihime swung wide.

**Organ Jaws**

...Reisen pushed easily off the floor of Coronis.

The tank was now in two halves, amber mist spreading around her in the air.

Her energy shield flickered in two colors; the cyan force-related one, and a brighter, almost white one which related to environmental conditions.

Eternal starlight shone above her, great and empty.

Below her, there was grey rock. Gravity was low, the two tank halves floating around her.

...Both guns held, Reisen gazed down at Yorihime, who floated before her.

"...Why?" Yorihime's mouth held open. "Please. Your suffering will end—... wh— when you do."

Reisen bared her teeth. She glared, and her chest pounded.

"All I wanted—..." She shook, as she drifted. "All I wanted—... wa- was for you to admit— that you were _wrong._ You _didn't_ think things through. Aa— and now _I'm_ gonna die— because _you_ were too _stupid!"_

"I'm sorry." Yorihime grimaced. "But— my first recompense, will be to end your pain!"

'_...So, it has to be this way.'_

Yorihime held her sword high, to cleave it down. "Please— just _stop!"_

_FWI- FWISH!_ Reisen shot a rocket from both Apollo and Heavy Claw.

_BOO- BOOM!_ They both burst in Yorihime's face. "_Ngh—"_

_WOOSH!_ She cleaved her blade down.

Reisen froze, as it dropped to the side of her, missing. '_This—...'_

_KR- KROO~M!_ The moon's surface split, a huge line of terrain destruction stretching on for many meters.

"...Ss— so." Reisen inhaled. "Isn't this just running away from _your own problem!?"_

Yorihime was in Reisen's face in the next instant. "How so?"

Her free arm had Reisen by the collar.

Reisen let go of Heavy Claw, one hand moving for Asclepius, but stopping. "...If— if you just kill me here— it won't matter what I said. Nothing would matter. I'd be dead— outta sight, outta mind. You're just gonna shut this shit out— all of it. All the shit I fought for— wouldn't mean a _damn!"_

"It wouldn't matter!" Yorihime yelled back. "If you were dead— it _wouldn't matter!"_

As she reeled her katana back, Reisen slid out Asclepius.

_BANG!_ A shell from Asclepius met Yorihime right in an eye.

"_Gh—"_ Even to a god-like entity like Yorihime, being hit in the eye with a high-velocity shell was something at least disorienting, if not a special kind of horrible. "_Rh— Reisen…!"_

Reisen's boot met her pelvis, allowing her to jolt back—

_FWHIP- Fwoam- FWASH!_ Reisen lobbed a dark mortar from Apollo into Yorihime's face and chest, in order to truly break the grip she had on Reisen's shirt.

_Fwi~sh!_ Reisen's shield broke from being in the vicinity of the black nova. '_That— black shit— is more strong than I thought!'_

"...I— I just want to set this _right._" Yorihime was drained looking, as the black-white nova of magic died out. "Reisen. I hurt you. I've been hurting you, for so long. So please— let me end my mistake!"

_Cli- cli- click._ Reisen loaded Asclepius up to full, as she caught up with Heavy Claw, some meters back amidst the low gravity.

"Yhou—" Reisen tried to speak—

"_**Hr**__aa~h!"_ Yorihime became a meteor of white, shooting into the ground before Reisen like a star.

_KROOM. KROOM._ As Reisen caught Heavy Claw, huge spires of moon rock began to jut from the floor.

_KRAKRAKROOM!_ The final rock spike shot straight up at Reisen in an instant.

...In the low gravity, Reisen was able to ride the top of it, sent flying way up into the air, rather than crushed between gravity and the thrust of the stone. '_Nice one, genius.'_

"You can start by _letting me li~ve!"_ Reisen hollered back down.

She saw a pinprick of white below. '_...Below.'_

Underneath Reisen directly, the ground was blooming with white light.

_PATATATAT!_ By firing Heavy Claw into the air briefly, Reisen gave herself the force she needed to drift slowly out of the way of the oncoming eruption…

_KRAK- __**KABOO—**_

The white, ion-like pillar of pure power blasted effortlessly from the moon's crust below. This hidden power radiated something Reisen hadn't felt before; it charged her shield to full and beyond by her simply being in the vicinity of the energy attack.

Yorihime walked below, along the side of the infinite white.

"_**I hadn't felt it before…**__" _Yorihime's voice was heard across the moonscape. _**"...Reisen."**_

_krak- Krakroom- KRAK- KRAK!_ The ground below began to break apart, the whole nearby kilometer of terrain shifting, grey dust billowing away from the raw, unseen before surge of activity and power.

_BANG- BANG- BANG- BANG- BANG!_ Briefly letting go of Heavy Claw, Reisen unloaded Asclepius, straight down where Yorihime stood. '_She can bleed. And— if it can bleed…'_

Reisen remembered the times she bathed with the sisters. Yorihime could draw her own, red blood with her katana. '_I can kill it.'_

"_**Lunaria needs me. Lunaria needs you."**_ Yorihime leaned back, her heart full, her own power exhilarating her. _**"We all have personalities. We all show signs of life. But, this complacency is not what we are. It is not what Lunaria is."**_

'_She's not Yorihime.'_ Reisen felt her eyes dry. '_She's not someone who should be alive, much longer.'_

_KROO- KROOM- KROOM- KRAKROOM!_ From all around Yorihime, and all around the kilometer of moon below, structures began to erect from the soil.

But, they were not structures. They were massive armaments of emerald; axes, greatswords, spears, katanas and knives. They were rough, but the idea got across.

For a comparison, the entire raising armory was together taller, wider, and denser than sector A-2-B.

'_...Yorihime's skilled. Supremely skilled. She's all-powerful. Nothing outward can hurt her.'_

'_...But.'_ Reisen had an idea. She remembered her cuts from the baths again. '_Her blade. Skilled in traditional swordsmanship she may be—... she's probably never fought someone with guns for real, or someone like me, even.'_

One of the emerald, skyscraper-sized weapons neared Reisen.

_PATATAT!_ She fired Heavy Claw, latching into it again to do so, so she'd end up atop the hilt of one of the raising swords.

_Whap- clack!_ Her landing onto it was rough, but aided by her shield, and the ever-increasing lack of gravity.

"_**Feel my armory."**_ Yorihime was heard clearly, all the way up here.

Then, Reisen was left in the air, the hilt she was sitting upon descending down in an instant.

The entire, unwieldy, legendary and unrecorded armory of unknowable scale grinded into the moon's surface below.

Amidst the dust, Yorihime was floating up. Reisen could see her eyes. '_Here she comes—'_

_BANG!_ Reisen let go of Heavy Claw again, drawing Asclepius with a flick, firing a single, wild shot down.

Yorihime darted hundreds of meters to the right, before snapping towards Reisen within a second.

_CLICK- BOOM- CLANK!_ Yorihime deflected Apollo's ballistic barrage with a stroke, a mere ten meters before Reisen—

Letting go of Apollo, Reisen flipping back in the air—

_WOOSH!_ Yorihime thrusted straight for her. She looked back, her sunlight-bright eyes meeting Reisen's wide red ones.

Reisen got ahold of Heavy Claw before it could drift too far, aiming it back down.

"_**Reisen…"**_ Yorihime intentionally wound up a swing. _**"Please think of your friends. It will ease the pain."**_

_WOOSH._ She swung her band of light-like blade inward.

Letting go of Heavy Claw once again, Reisen held up both its revolver and Asclepius, from either inner pocket of her suit.

_BANG- BANG!_ She shot at Yorihime's hand, where the katana's grip would be.

_CLI- CLING!_ Asclepius met Yorihime's wrist, loosening it. Heavy Claw's detonating bullet met the hilt of her katana.

_SHINK._ The katana flipped back, rolling along Yorihime's palm and wrist, sliding right into her left bicep.

Reisen slipped away the steel revolver, grabbing Heavy Claw again. '_Gotcha.'_

"_**...Brilliant."**_ Yorihime blinked at the blade lodged in her own arm, the red blood flowing freely. _**"Such a stra— teghe—**_"

_BANG- BANG!_ Reisen double-tapped Yorihime in the left eye, Asclepius's bullets tilting her head back.

_Fwish- BOOM!_ As Yorihime glared back down, a rocket met her in the chest, the burst of smoke and fire clouding her vision.

Reisen was descending towards the moon's surface.

"_So…!"_ Reisen yelled back up at the angry demigod girl. "What's the big plan after this!? Toyohime gonna sponge ya down, again!? Nice long bath— an' a shot of human skulls!?"

"_**Reisen— please—**_"

Reisen saw Apollo still drifting around in the air, way up above. '_Keep that in mind…'_

"_**We mustn't let the problems of now hold us back. Generations will look back on today as a historic moment. No matter what the opinion of my heroism is, it will be the foundation of future Lunaria."**_

_FWI- FWISH!_ From Yorihime's back, huge, teal-white angel wings bloomed, as she coasted down, leering over Reisen.

_Fwi- BOOM!_ Reisen got a potshot in with a rocket blast, having only guessed its accuracy. '_Pft- really…'_

Yorihime's wings spread out, as wide as they could. When they were the widest, she hung in the air in place, readying to slam them inward.

_FWUMP!_ This moment of stillness let Reisen shoot an electric mortar from Heavy Claw.

_FWASH- FZZT- FZAP- FAZAP!_ It exploded into an entourage of charged shells; great lavender arcs of plasma and lightning rolling through Yorihime's body.

_FWAP!_ Her wings came down slowly, lightning arcing around amidst the holy, magic feathers.

Reisen shot down against her will quickly, the cutting air current sending her rocketing to the floor.

'_If she flapped at full power— this would've been messy…'_

_Thunk- Fwish!_ Reisen's energy shield flickered dangerously, as her legs nearly buckled against the ground. '_Aah— damn…'_

Yorihime swung straight down, to loom overhead, wings still spread—

_FWUMP!_ Reisen fired a flaming mortar next.

Yorihime evaded it with her body—

_FWAP- FWOOM- KABOOMBOOM!_ But, her left wing caught it, and it became a star of metal and fire.

_BOOM!_ Reisen shot her own feet with a rocket right after, ascending amidst the fire and smoke. '_Nnh— fuck yeah…!'_

_WOOSH! _From Yorihime, a massive, spherical burst of air emerged from where her heart would be. _**"I— am no mortal!"**_

'_Whoh— woa~h!'_ Reisen spun around amidst the fierce air, before rotating her body with her arms and legs, her momentum and the air leading her diverting as she swung herself. _'What the fuck…!'_

Yorihime looked around, slightly smouldering, covered in jolts…

_Woosh!_ Reisen rolled around overhead. "I'll— shred you to bits— and send you to _hell!"_

'_Ah— there!'_ Flicking her gaze ahead, she saw Apollo.

"_**...This is how it is meant to be?"**_ Yorihime almost sounded unsure, somehow. _**"A pitiful, useless struggle? Machines die with grace. Were I ever useless, I too would die in grace. Reisen, please, join my side. In your memory, I will construct a hundred rabbits in your image."**_

'_Not my idea of flattery, if I'm gonna be honest…!'_

Reisen met Apolo, her shield humming back to life meanwhile. '_Alright—'_

_WOOSH._ Yorihime was next to her in the next moment.

_SWISH._ She cleaved her katana to the left, widely. Reisen flinched hard as she rotated in the air, aiming Apollo ahead—

_CLICK- FWOOMBOOM!_ A volley of metal and fire met Yorihime's face. _"Rh__**rgh— **_ngh!"

Reisen huffed, and glanced at her thighs. Her right leg was carved straight down one side, suit cloth and flesh missing. A neat, huge patch of exposed, now bleeding flesh met her vision.

'_Ff~...'_ Reisen gritted her teeth hard. '_Son of a bi~tch!'_

"_**I— hate hurting you…" **_ Yorihime's face through the fire was dismal. _**"Life is cruel…"**_

_CLICK- CLICK- BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!_ Reisen held down the trigger on Apollo, unloading the mesmerizing hellstorm of dark, electric and fire magic.

"_**Wugh— ooh—"**_ Yorihime didn't anticipate it. She'd swung her blade to stop a single barrage, but the rest tore into her, colorful elements boiling even the emptiness around her.

'_So—... this is the logical extreme of a sense of duty. Can't say I'm jealous.'_

Yorihime exhaled, staring down at the moon below again, stressed. _**"Please, Reisen. Stop."**_

'_No one's ever started a war with me, that ever ended well.'_

_FWU- FWUMP!_ She fired a flaming mortar from Heavy Claw, and a dark one from Apollo.

"_**Please." **_Yorihime flinched, bracing her teeth against the differing, stretching and searing elements. _**"Reisen…!"**_

_FWU- FWUMP!_ Reisen shot two more mortars. Her weapons were burning her hands from overuse. '_Keep shooting, damn it!'_

"_**I said stop—"**_

_PATATATATAT!_ Reisen unloaded the machinegun cannon of Heavy Claw.

Yorihime jerked her head away, the array meeting her face and cheek. She was finally bleeding, small scratches all over her exposed arms and face.

"_**I WILL DRILL THE SKILL OF LEGENDS INTO YOU"**_

Yorihime was next to Reisen in the next moment. '_Oh—'_

_FWIBOOM!_ Yorihime swing the katana inward with enough force to rend the rock to Reisen's left.

Reisen snapped into a roll in the air, eyes wide. '_— shit—'_

_FWIWOOSH._ The katana was flicked up at an awkward angle, Yorihime doing her damndest to meet Reisen with it.

_Whunk!_ The blow met Reisen, the hilt sending her flying, the blade's incision only bone deep. '_Fuck fuck—'_

"_**EIRIN CHOSE ME"**_

_PATATAT!_ Reisen returned fire with Heavy Claw as she spun away, breath hard.

_FWIWOOSH._ Yorihime swung wide, and the blade went for a thousand meters, as a band of light.

"_Fuck!"_ Reisen felt her elbow get cut in a hard spot, her right arm's nerves locking up as she slid up and over the band.

Yorihime was a being of nearly pure light, her infinite blade pure white, as she tracked Reisen's movement, coming up in a near instant.

_FWUMP!_ Reisen shot a dark mortar from Apollo straight into Yorihime's face.

_FWOOMP- BOOM- Fwoa~sh…!_ The spiral of dark light broke Reisen's shield again. '_Ngh- fuck…!'_ Not that the shield would do much protecting if Yorihime hit her, anyway.

_FWIWOOSH!_ Yorihime swung way high up into the air, very shy of Reisen entirely, predicting incorrectly that she'd try ascending again amidst the visual clutter.

'_Not sure what she was swinging for—'_

_PATATATATAT!_ Grinning hard, Reisen lumbered backwards, moonwalking as she unloaded Heavy Claw with her numbing arm.

"_**Lunaria wills your surrender—... so why do you resist!?"**_Yorihime reeled back, staggered by the shells that hit her. Or rather, she was staggered by frustration, and the shells just sort of helped.

'_...Still— this Yorihime—... fuck. She's a goddamn powerhouse. Only a little cut up, after all of the fucking—... like— how hard does a body need to be?'_

..._CLICK- BOOM!_ While Yorihime waited for Reisen to respond, Reisen shot her in the face with Apollo. '_What the fuck was that.'_

"_Rgh—..."_ Yorihime's volume dipped lower. _"Once more— my armory…"_

_...vuu~m._ Reisen heard the low hum of a jet. '_What the fuck…?'_

Yorihime and her looked up at the same time.

_VHOOSH!_ A chrome and white jet shot overhead of the two.

_CLATHUNK!_ A payload disengaged from the bottom of it.

Reisen's eyes widened. '_That's—'_ It was her tank. It was still missing the main cannon, and it still had the radio dish and cooling turret out from earlier.

Yorihime looked down, noticing Reisen's distracted stare.

_Click!_ Reisen bounded off the floor. '_I'll send you straight to hell—'_

_SHUNK._ Yorihime thrust ahead. Reisen felt the blade enter her left leg. '_Nn—'_

_SHINK!_ Reisen's left leg from the calf down was serrated to the bone.

"_Ghk- aaa~h!"_ Reisen yelled into space.

'_Fuck fuck fuck fuck—'_

As Reisen spun up towards the slowly descending tank, Yorihime flipped around on a dime, snapping closer. _**"See how powerless you are."**_

Reisen looked down along her chest, seeing Yorihime shoot up parallel to it. Reisen had her guns aimed right back at her, eyes wide, expression fierce.

_CLICK- FWUMP- BOOM- BOOM!_ Reisen shot an array of flaming bolts, and fire mortars down.

Her hands shook; both weapons were pulsing hot, to the extent that her hands had begun to become numb. '_Da— damn it…!'_

Amidst the fire, Reisen latched onto the underside of her descending tank's treads.

"_**And now—..."**_ Yorihime reeled her blade back. _**"The end."**_

_WOOWOOWOOWOOSH!_ She spun around like a hurricane. All the fire extinguished instantly, and she ascended towards the tank too.

Pushing herself up, Reisen aimed opposite of the tank's hull, into the air. '_Wait— no—'_ She aimed down at the hull, instead.

_FWI- BOOMBOOM!_ She shot rockets from both guns into her personal tank.

_THUNK!_ This shot the tank down just a little faster than normal, causing it to bump Yorihime's head. _**"Uwh—" **_It rebounded off her skull, moving back towards Reisen.

_FWISH- BOOM, BOOM!_ Reisen shot another two rockets down at the hull.

_THUNK!_ As Yorihime tried to ascend again, her attack stopped, she hit the undertread of the tank again. _**"Uu~h!"**_

_FWISH… BOOM, BOOM!_ Now some distance away, Reisen shakily shot two more rockets down at the hull.

This time, Yorihime slowly descended, free hand on her head. But, the tank continued to come back down towards her. She noticed a moment or two into it coming for her. _**"Wh—"**_

_thunk- THUNK._ The tank caught her as she tried to jump up against it, to strafe away. _**"Begone—"**_

_BAM._ Before she could cleave it in twain with a swing, it pressed her into the moon's surface, the tread squishing her body into the moon sand. _"...Ho— how troublesome—"_

_Cla- clank!_ Reisen landed atop the tank, both guns aimed down. She leaned over the edge, seeing Yorihime's upper torso.

Reisen beamed wickedly. _"Wraa~h!"_

_RATATATAT- BOOM- RATATATAT- BOOM!_ She unloaded both guns straight down, burying Yorihime's head in the soil.

_WOOSH!_ When Yorihime slowly swung her arm up for a katana swing, Reisen lumbered back, and pressed the barrel-ends of both guns into the tank itself.

_PINK- BAM- BAM- BAM- BAM!_ She unloaded them both into her tank's side, rumbling it with every shell's shocking, pounding force, jittering Yorihime below—

_BOOM!_ She generated rockets at the tips of both guns, and the blasts that resulted made the whole tank shake. '_Ow— fuck—'_

_BOOM- BOOM!_ Enduring the pain and the splattering of her own blood, she blew more rockets atop the tank's hull.

Steel chips and internal pieces exploded into the air like diamonds and coal; the internal pieces black, and the steel a nice, albeit smashed chrome.

_KRA~NG!_ She crushed Apollo straight into the tank, embedding it in the metal. Her whole body hurt, blood spraying across the metal, her breath hollow and eyes wide. '_If it's the last— thing I do—'_

_KRA~NG!_ She embedded Heavy Claw into the tank next, pressing down on Yorihime harder. "_I will send you—... to he~ll!"_

Yorihime gritted her teeth against the force. "Reisen— yhou—"

_KABAM! KABOOM!_ Reisen head blasts that weren't her's. '_Shit—'_ The tank had had enough abuse.

Now without her shoulder guns, Reisen stood over the edge again.

_BANG BANG- BANG BANG!_ She shot both her revolvers straight down. "Get— _obliterate~d!"_

_FWI- FWISH._ Rays of light began to shoot from Reisen's tank, the internal reactor dying.

Reisen inhaled, held onto Heavy Claw, and pulled—

_KRABOO~M! BOOM- BOOM- BOOM- BOOM!_ Reisen's Lunaria Guardian exploded. It was a truly massive explosion.

A pillar of red, amber and fire stretched into the sky. Like the cyborgs Reisen had destroyed before, her tank, if it were ever destroyed, was engineered so that the core wouldn't just go; it'd become an oblivion of force and energy, amber flames stretching across the land, and into the air in a mushroom cloud.

But, the blast was many times the magnitude of a missile, unlike the cyborgs. Little other could describe the blast, aside from 'absolute oblivion'. It was an explosion that echoed complete annihilation; one which could topple buildings without any warning.

≈ _Sea of Tranquility_

...Reisen raised her face from the lunar dust.

'_I'm—...'_

She tried to stand. Low gravity helped, but… '_My—...'_

Her left leg was broken, it felt like.

'_...Can't see, right eye. Right arm completely numb. Left leg's—... out. I—... I hate everything…'_

...Hopping onto one leg amidst the low gravity, Reisen fought the pained tears, to look around. '_Is—... is Yorihime still—...'_

No, Yorihime was gone. In fact, Reisen couldn't see anything she could remember. Just settled dust, rocks, and sand; and all three looked about the same.

'_...I'll heal. It's going to take a little while, but…'_

Reisen began hopping on her right leg along the lunar plains, tears streaming down her cheeks. '_Let's go… my- air reserves will only last so long…'_

...Then, in the distance, she saw a teal light. '_Wa— wait.'_

It was a dim, blue klaxon light atop a grey canister, positioned atop a grey, square and nearly featureless launchpad on the rocky moon surface.

≈ _Sea of Tranquility_

...Yorihime opened her mouth. "_Hu— hua~h…"_ She felt like she had suffocated, on the sheer force the blast unleashed.

How unbecoming, she supposed. She shot herself up off the ground, sitting up.

Where was Reisen? ...After a brief scan with her eyes, and her senses, she felt no one.

Was she lost in the blast?

There was no blood nearby. She supposed there wouldn't be any…

"...Hmm." Yorihime had a pit in her stomach. "Gu— guess… that's it, then. I— I love you, Reisen."

...Then, something caught her eye.

It was a silver ball. A glance told Yorihime that this was from the tank Coronis. It was the hologram interface orb.

_fli- flick._ From the orb itself, a hologram was projected.

Her mentor, Eirin Yagokoro stood there, looking somewhat plain in the small hologram.

Yorihime clumsily fought the low gravity to stare, mouth ajar, at the slowly drifting silver orb, and its hologram.

"_...If you're listening to this message," _Eirin spoke, _"then Reisen has already begun her escape. She has entered the vicinity of the escape pod, and nothing can stop her. No anti-craft technology will currently detect her. Isn't it quaint, Yorihime? They're all watching for human crafts, as you've instructed them."_

...Yorihime felt a very familiar, gut-born feeling. Perhaps disgust, or uncertainty.

"_I suppose that's the wrong tone to take, with you." _Eirin smiled. _"...And, before you spend sleepless nights pondering this: yes, this is all as it's meant to be. I hope Reisen has taught you a valuable lesson, or a few."_

...Yorihime blinked, a few times.

"_Consider this the end of your supplementary lesson. How was it? Not that I'll hear your answer. I suspect it was unpleasant. I suspect, some days from now, you'll think on Reisen's words. How they discomforted you, and how they made you… fear, maybe? Perhaps._

"_This kind of discomfort is what you will experience every single time you so simply extinguish a life without thinking about it. Do you remember the twinge of fear and sorrow you just felt? When you suspected Reisen dead? Every time you suspected Reisen dead, throughout this?_

"_I won't tell you what to do. I know you wouldn't like that._

"_But… I think you know what the right answer is. The most preferred answer. The ideal criteria here is comfort and complacency. ...Does that disturb you? Then, find a compromise. It's possible. As satisfying and sound as a succinct execution like this would be… you will quickly find that you've, perhaps, become a villain._

"_And, yes, in the moment, that is just fine, isn't it? In battle, you may even take pleasure in the security of acting._

"_But, when you go relax, kill your time with merriment and Toyohime's care… I'd like you to think of Reisen. I'd like you to think of all the rabbits Reisen has related to. I'd like you to think of them, their homes, and their comfort. Your comfort. Their comfort. Does a sentient being deserve comfort?"_

...Yorihime searched the stars.

"_Perhaps, one day, someone will come along. Someone like me, maybe? Someone like you, maybe. They will see your society here. They won't regret taking that comfort away from you. And, the fight for your comfort would be all the much more difficult… if you were the only one who knew comfort."_

"_...If you want the short of it: do think about the global morale and emotional power loss as a factor of your supposed modernization. I won't spoil anything for you, but… it's possible to capitalize on such an agonized world. All too possible. You think it easy for you? It's easy for everyone."_

...Yorihime flopped back, into the moon's sand.

"_But, of course, spend a few days thinking about it. I certainly won't be back to see what's happened, any time soon. Throw a crazy party with cute boys, if you wish. As long as the house's still standing, whenever that is I come back. Don't even care if you have to rebuild it for that day."_

"_I won't force you to do anything. I consider this a lesson on sentience that you failed to—... well, I suppose you didn't fail to adopt it. You're simply progressing slower than I'd have liked._

"_I don't particularly seek to babysit you however. So, have this condescending goading instead. That… and, wouldn't it be absolutely silly, if the moon came crashing down in just a few days?_

"_...Have a nice evening, Yorihime. Happy holidays, and all that. Isn't it about time for the summer festivals?_

"_Eirin Yagokoro, end transmission, end log."_

_fwip._ The silver ball went dark.

Yorihime looked dead, as she gazed up at the stars.

'_...I—...'_ She shut her eyes. '_I really am just the worst, aren't I?'_

She giggled, a little. '_Damn it. I really ought to just—...'_

'_...go home.'_ She realized the irony of the thought. She remembered Reisen's long discussion. '_It's nice, to have a home.'_

A cosmic wind caressed the dark grey landscape. The dead side of the world was calm, devoid of life, mystery, or anything.

'_I guess I'll just go home and play Bingo, or something.'_ Yorihime was done thinking, for today. '_...Sorry, master Eirin. Sorry, Reisen. Beloved pet Reisen. Wonder what I'll tell Toyohime. I mean, the idea would be that she died in duty or something… but, she's not dead. She ran away? I guess that's… not lying.'_

'_Maybe I just won't say anything. When she notices, she'll probably not even care. Toyohime's… she's like that...'_

_Thunk._ The cylinder-shaped cooler cannon from Reisen's tank landed next to Yorihime in the sand, spooking her. "Wh— jeez…"

'_...I'm gonna have a lot to think about, this weekend. I already have a headache. I'll take it one step at a time, I guess.'_

...Holding her hand up, she felt at the huge gashes all across her face.

'_A soldier like Reisen—... she reminds me of the Udonge trees, at the capital. Toyohime used to wait for the Udonge in our little backyard garden to grow every day. She stopped a few years ago, and…'_

'_I guess she'll never really see it.'_ Yorihime smiled down at the red smears on her hands. '_A soldier like that— only blooms every third millennium, I'm sure.'_

≈ _Sea of Tranquility_

_thu- thud._ Reisen flopped into the escape pod, all dizzy. "_Oo~h, _yea~h. Fu~ck."

She looked along the inner hull, and saw a tiny box with a plus on it. '_Ooh— gimme some of that shit, fuck me…'_

_cli- click._ She fought with the plastic slider on the medkit holder, but it wouldn't budge. '_Wh— are you fucking—'_

Holding up Asclepius, she was tempted to shoot it, but…

_CLACK!_ She rammed the grip of the pistol down on it like a hammer, and it broke the box open. '_Tada.'_

Inside was some painkillers, a soft-looking white cloth, and a little blue dish. '_...The fuck's the hanky for? Comfort?'_

The top of the escape pod had a teal-white beacon of light; or rather, it was a fairly dim blue klaxon-type light, but compared to the bleak grey of the moon, it was pretty easy to see.

Reisen downed a bunch of painkillers. '_Should make me stop feeling like my heart's exploding out of my chest. How about this blue shit— haven't really seen that around before—'_

_fwish._ When she held it close, it disintegrated, and she felt like she just drank a bottle of water. '_What. What the fuck? Okay, sure. Wait—... oh, I know what that is. Oxygen and miscellaneous air supplement. Kinda like a nice, deep breath. That's cool…'_

Shutting her eyes, she leaned back. '_Oh, fuck yeah… painkillers're kickin' in…'_

_Fwish._ Suddenly, the escape pod door shut.

'_...Well, I don't have Apollo. Still got Asclepius. All I care's that I still have Heavy Claw, and its peashooter revolver cousin.'_

_FRRRR~. _The ignition was loud. Unlike sophisticated lunar craft, this dinky launch pod had only the bare minimum space travel requirements met. It had a destination, a way to get there, and a way to not explode against atmosphere, rocks, or the landing.

_Fli- flick._ '_And, a cloaking module, apparently. Not sure what good that does. I can't even turn it off if I wanted to— this is a really weird kind of escape pod…'_

...Reisen stared down at her bleeding leg, as the skin regenerated. Her right eye blinked open, at first blurry, before collecting itself again.

She yawned. '_...Big damn day. It's probably almost night… at the capital, anyway.'_

_Frrr~._ The ignition became louder, as the pod began to shake a little. Then, the ascent began.

Reisen stared out of a small, very dim grey window on the side of the pod.

'_Wait— there's a radio receiver array here?'_ Reisen decided to flick it on curiously. '_What's there to pick up, out here? How far out did I even get sent…?'_

_fzzt- frrt- fsht. _At first, static. '_...Spooky cosmic wind noises—'_

"_Buzz, this is Houston."_ A man's voice came in through the radio. "_F-two, one-one hundred sixtieth second for shadow photography on the sequence camera."_

"_Okay."_ Apparently, this man's voice was 'Buzz'.

'_Who the hell…?'_ Reisen smiled, a little. _'Okay, apparently something's happening over the Sea of Tranquility, after all…'_

Reisen looked out the grey window…

There was a craft, outside, over the hill she'd ascended over.

'_Wait—...'_

It was a very rough, very primitive lander. It looked to be made of some kind of copper-looking metal, steels, and thin beams.

"_I'm at the foot of the ladder."_ A third man spoke. _"The LM footpads are only depressed in the surface about one or two inches, although the surface appears to be very, very fine grained, as you get close to it. It's almost like a powder. Down there, it's very fine."_

Reisen was watching a human man, in a neon white, or greyish white suit walk down the steps of the flimsy looking module.

She couldn't give the spacecraft a classification if she tried. It was just so beneath anything on the moon, even at just a glance. '_How—... alien.'_

Then, he spoke again. _"I'm going to step off the LM now."_

Neil Armstrong leapt down from the steps of the Lunar Module.

"_That's one small step for man… one giant leap for mankind."_

'_Those—... those are humans. This—... this is the human invasion?'_ Reisen had thought the whole 'invasion' idea was bullshit to begin with.

But, looking at the man in the primitive suit walking around, his whole body sealed head-to-toe in a protective, full-body material suit, Reisen quickly realized something.

'_...They're not a threat.'_ Such primitive technology was likely not even a blip in Lunaria's radar defense system. The most energy coming from it had to have been just radio and other low frequency communication waves.

Neil spoke aloud of his discoveries, and Reisen heard it over the receiver-only civilian radio. "_And the— the surface is fine and powdery. I can— I can pick it up loosely with my toe. It does adhere in fine layers like powdered charcoal to the sole and sides of my boots. I only go in a small fraction of an inch, maybe an eighth of an inch, but I can see the footprints of my boots and the treads in the fine, sandy particles."_

'_Yorihime wanted-... to fight them. This wouldn't have been a fight. This would've been a slaughter.'_

...She gazed at the men in wonder. '_Still… they actually developed space travel, huh? They're talking like they've never been on the scientific side of the moon before. Then—... this must be all they think it is.'_

There was the first man, again. "_Neil, this is Houston. We're copying."_

"_There seems to be no difficulty in moving around as we suspected. It's even perhaps easier than the simulations at one sixth g that we performed, in the various simulations on the ground. It's actually no trouble to walk around."_

'_...Wow.'_ Reisen watched Neil wobble around on the surface below. '_...Honestly, they don't sound so bad. Compared to the shit on the moon, at least. Not a high bar, really.'_

"_Okay."_ Neil continued. _"The descent engine did not leave a crater of any size. It has one foot clearance on the ground. We're essentially on a very level place here. I can see some evidence of rays emanating from the descent engine, but a very insignificant amount."_

'_...I feel like I'm watching something remarkable. A kind of one-in-a-lifetime sort of discovery.'_

Under the black and the stars against the lifeless grey, Reisen saw the lander and the man below become smaller.

Neil slowly faced the lander. _"Okay, Buzz, we ready to bring down the camera?"_

'_I guess you could call them scouts. But—... they look barely fit to survive up here for any length of time, let alone fight anything. I don't think they came armed.'_

"_I'm all ready. I think it's been squared away and in good shape."_ Buzz confirmed.

"_Okay."_

Reisen saw the horizon over them, empty and void.

'_...Honestly. This is beautiful.'_

There were no sector walls in sight. No atmospheric barriers overhead, no boundaries, no life. The Sea of Tranquility was just that.

Reisen felt why she'd heard people call it 'the void', now.

'_It truly is the far end of the world.'_

"_Okay."_ Buzz was heard. _"The contingency sample is down and it's— fzzt. Looks like it's a little difficult to dig through the initial crust."_

"_This is very interesting."_ Neil spoke of the simple soil on the moon's surface.

'_...These guys're gonna get real bored, real fast. Or, maybe not, if the sand's that interesting...'_

"_It's a very soft surface, but here and there where I plug with the contingency sample collector, I run into a very hard surface, but it appears to be very cohesive material of the same sort. I'll try to get a rock in here. Just a couple."_

Reisen began to see the edges of the black horizon, as the moon grew farther. '_The radio'll probably cut out, soon. Unless I'm really close to the transfer, but… their waves are so weak. Human technology… we really have nothing to fear, right now. We really ought to just be observing them, instead.'_

Buzz was searching the sky, too. _"It looks beautiful from here, Neil."_

"_It has a stark beauty all its own."_ Neil shared the sentiment. _"It's like much of the high desert of the United States. It's very different, but it's very pretty out here."_

'_Heh.'_

"_Be advised— fssht— rock samples, the— ssht— fzzt—"_ Neil cut out.

The radio transmission was now too far.

Reisen leaned back in her seat, watching the stars turn. '_...Well. I guess, that's that.'_

'_Goodbye, Lunaria. I don't even know where this pod is going. But, wherever it goes… it's not going to be the life I'm used to living, I'm sure.'_

'_Well, whatever happens, I have guns.'_

∈ space ∋

Neil leaned before the Lunar Module. "For those who haven't read the plaque, we'll read the plaque that's on the front landing gear of this LM. First there's two hemispheres, one showing each of the two hemispheres of the Earth. Underneath it says, 'Here Man from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind'."

∈ space ∋

_fzzt._ Reisen's head perked up, her body nearly entirely healed, as she dozed in the escape pod.

She looked back down at her hands. '_...Getting the marks off these'll take awhile.'_

_fssht- fzz._ The radio picked up a signal, briefly.

"_Neil and Buzz, I am talking to you by telephone from the Oval Room at the White House, and this certainly has to be the most historic telephone call ever made."_

Reisen saw the Earth through the small grey, reinforced window. It was much closer now, the huge, varied green-blue-white orb vast and beautiful, and bright.

"_I just can't tell you how proud we all are of what you— ssht— for every American. This has to be the proudest day of our lives. And for people all over the world, I am sure they, too, join with Americans in recognizing what an immense feat this is."_

'_I guess— just now— discovering space travel would be kind of a big thing, yeah.'_

"_Because of what you have done, the heavens have become a part of man's world. And as you talk to us from the Sea of Tranquility, it inspires us to redouble our efforts to bring peace and tranquility to Earth."_

...Reisen snorted.

'_Ought to bring peace and tranquility to Lunaria, too.'_

"_For one priceless moment in the whole history of man, all the people on this Earth are truly one; one in their pride in what you have done, and one in our prayers that you will return safely to Earth."_

Reisen stared at the ceiling of her pod. '_...You're welcome.'_

Neil's voice came through. _"Thank you, Mister President. It's a great honor and privilege for us to be here, representing not only the United States, but men of peace of all nations, and with interest and a curiosity and a vision for the future. It's an honor for us to be able to participate here today."_

The President of the United States probably nodded. _"And thank you very much— and I look forward— all of us look forward to seeing you on the Hornet on Thursday."_

Buzz replied. _"I look forward to that very much, sir."_

"_Columbia, Columbia, this is— fssht- fzzt"_

"_Loud and clear— fssht- shh—"_

Reisen heard the radio cut out, again.

≡ **Gensokyo** ≡

All around Reisen, there was white and light. '_Woah…'_

The atmosphere of the Earth was huge, compared to the domes each sector was confined to on the moon.

Her pod spiralled through and past clouds. The ground below was shrouded in a thin blue horizon glow, and she could see ocean to either side. A huge continent rested to the left, and boundless, truly massive sea to the right.

But, the pod's target below was an island, although Reisen couldn't see it too well, just yet.

_Frrrr~._ The bottom thrusters engaged, to slow the craft down. The heat of the horizon entry faded, and as it continued to lower still, Reisen saw the mountains of the island below.

'_Everything down here is so big.'_

_SHH~! Froa~r._ The thruster put in a lot of work, as the craft slowly spun.

'_There's a lot of forests. There's no seam between any of the land; it's just one… absolutely huge mixed biome.'_

As the pod lowered further, she could see the forests below, and the trees and hills grow bigger…

'_So bright. I think I see little cities, everywhere across the land…'_

Her escape pod now felt dark inside, by comparison.

_Frrr~. Frrr~._ The lightweight engines pulsed a few more times.

_fwi- SHING!_ Suddenly, Reisen perked up at a loud, magical-sort of noise. '_What—...'_

She looked out the window, and saw a rainbow-like barrier that her pod had dropped in through. Like the moon's barriers, it seemed the most faint, if not non-existent from the top, and become more solid and noticeable near the bottom.

But then, she couldn't see it anymore. '_...That was strange.'_

_Frr- FRRR._ The engine roared as loud as it could, and the landing slowed dramatically.

Around Reisen, the land became clear. A large lake sat near a hill some distance ahead, and near her, a huge mountain stood against the sky.

Then, her vision was obscured by bamboo.

_FRRR._ The pod bobbed, slowing, and even reversing its momentum. As it crawled into a neutral drift in the air, it inched ahead.

'_...I guess, this is where I was supposed to be dropped off.'_

_KATHUNK- THUNK._ The lunar escape pod touched down in the midst of a clearing, in the bamboo forest.

_...shoof. Shi~sh._ Slowly, the atmosphere in the pod fogged up, from the immense difference of the small environment inside it, and the lush, mana-rich world outside.

This was Gensokyo, July 1969.

_FWI~SH._ The door ahead popped open fully.

Heavy Claw over her shoulder, Reisen marched out into the sunlight.

The chirping of birds greeted her. Small insects could be heard in the nearby forests, and occasionally, she could hear someone, somewhere, talking.

'_...It's pretty.'_ Reisen decided, smiling. '_Kind of a mess, but pretty. So, this is Earth. It feels huge already.'_

_Fwi- fwish!_ The brush ahead of Reisen immediately came alive, someone short sprinting through it. "Oo~h— oh, ho~!"

...Reisen gave the short man a plain look. '_He has rabbit ears! But—... he's really short!'_

Seeing Reisen there, the small bunny guy beamed. "Ooh— _shit!_ Hey— help me out!"

'_Japanese, is it? Not a bad choice. The moon uses a lot of Japanese as it is…'_

_FWI- FWISH!_ Then, Reisen saw what he was sprinting away from, bounding through the brush.

It was meant to be camouflaged by some kind of primitive cloaking technology, or so it seemed.

"_HNN"_ It looked like some kind of mantis, with two glowing, golden eyes atop its eight foot tall body. "_HGHGHGH"_

_PAT- PAT- PAT!_ It bounded towards them, sprinting across the ground with its strange legs—

_BANG._ Reisen shot it in the face.

_SPLACK!_ The shot from Asclepius left a hole clean through the middle of its hammer-shaped head. Its eyes sunk inward, pulled in by the string of green-red crap that was pulled out the back of its exoskeleton.

"_HRR— Hrhe— hihk—..."_ Shaking its body around, it stalked back, looking drunk for a moment, before it flopped onto its side, emitting a buzzing, gurgling sound. "_hhhzzz"_

...The rabbit boy rubbed his eyes, and held his mouth open. "...Du— _dude… woah."_

Reisen slid the revolver away again. "So." She faced the guy, who was only half as tall as her, about. "...Uh. Everyone here friendly as him?"

"You're _hot."_ He gave her a huge smile. "And— so _big._ Oh my _god._ He— hey, you busy?"

"...Why?" Reisen looked plain.

"I wanna fuck!"

"...Yes, I'm busy." Reisen grinned hard. "If you _couldn't tell,_ I'm not from around these parts."

"Awh—..." The brown-haired rabbit boy held onto his own ears. "But— when the hell'm I gonna find a lady as big— and _bunny_— as _you?"_

"Ah. I thought I'd find you here. That gunshot made things easier."

Reisen looked to the right—

Eirin Yagokoro casually stepped from the brush.

'_...Wh— wait.'_ Reisen blinked twice.

"...From how you're in one piece, I take it the landing went smoothly." Eirin gave her a small smile. "As did the encounter."

"...So." Reisen scanned the bamboo behind Eirin. _"This_ is where you went to hide for fuckin' forever."

"Quite." Eirin nodded. "...I must say, it's cozy here."

"I'd bet." Reisen grinned. "Looks like this bamboo's all packed… _really _tightly."

Eirin gave the bamboo behind Reisen a single glance. "You have no idea."

'_Surprisingly relaxed, for someone who made the entire goddamn moon society.'_

"By the way." After Reisen got over the idea of meeting the founder of her entire society for the first time, she wanted answers. "What the hell was all that?"

Eirin intuited what she meant instantly. "I wanted to teach Yorihime a lesson in humanity. At the same time, I sought to directly prevent immediate discovery of the moon's society by tiring her out as well as forcing her to rethink her actions. As a sub-goal, I sought to pull _you_ out of there, and get you down here."

"...Were you responsible, for her thinking the 'invasion' was my fault?" Reisen had a suspicion.

"Yes." Eirin admitted flatly. "Test of her character. Which, I don't think anyone suspected her of succeeding. She immediately turned on you, did she not?"

"...Yeah?" Reisen confirmed.

With that, Eirin began to move for the brush. "Come with me. We have a fortification, here. We must keep to ourselves, for awhile. These lands are currently unstable, and will continue to fracture."

Reisen casually followed, keeping Asclepius ready. "...That so. I thought Earth was just a bunch of humans killing each other."

"It is." Eirin clarified. "However, we are in the walls of Gensokyo. This is a special space, where youkai and beings of belief run free, and magic still exists."

'_Explains the dumb mantis thing.'_

"Oh!" The brown-haired rabbit behind Reisen clapped his hands together. "You must be those chicks! The ones who never come out and say anything! Take me with you!"

"Later." Eirin waved him off. "...While we have semi-open communications with the locals, we are to keep to a strict, limited set of communications. The land's peacekeeper of this time is hyper-vigilant, and we are at risk if we are exposed to even too many common rabbits."

'_...Guess that's why this is a good hiding place. No one wants to go here.'_

...Slowing in the brush, Eirin smiled back at Reisen. "As long as we stay in these woods, nothing will endanger us. On that note…"

Within moments, they came to the walls of a large building.

"Why'd you leave? The moon." Reisen scanned the eyes of the large, oriental front. It had slanted roofs, with blue shingles, and the walls stretched for quite some time.

At the very front, there was a sliding glass door.

'_How's this keep hidden…?'_ Then, when she searched her sides, the brown-haired boy rabbit was gone, somehow '_...Maybe like that.'_

"...There were many reasons." Stopping at the wall there, Eirin faced her. "Personally… while I loved the society I'd created up there, things had come to a point where I felt tired. I felt limited. While I could have oppressed what made me feel like that, I also truly couldn't care for the prospective, societal impacts of the changes that'd have to be made. In part, things simply didn't turn out the way I thought I'd wanted.

"Then, there was the princess." Eirin leaned her head to the side a little, recollecting. "...Because of the way in which I handled mortality within the society, there was such stigma against the elixir's uses. The princess had enough one day, and followed her whims. In a way, I saw my own struggle in her. And, if we stayed on the moon, we'd have no escape from what we felt bound us.

"In a perhaps uncharacteristic showing, I took the princess, brushed aside our military, and left." Eirin finished. "...There was nothing that could conceivably stop me on the moon. After all, I'd built everything. There are hundreds, if not _thousands_, of different vulnerabilities in all of the massively replicated technology. Countless flaws. Not small inaccuracies, either; flaws that render such weapons and tools, on a larger scale, worthless."

...Once she was done, Reisen looked down at the somewhat sunny, tall grass around them.

'_Holy shit.'_ Who Reisen was talking with began to set in. '_...That one-off comment I made about the moon being a clusterfuck was actually right.'_

"So— wait." Reisen met her gaze again, and wondered. "Princess Kaguya is still here, then? With you?"

Eirin smiled. "Yes."

==== Eientei ====

The halls of Eientei were massive. They had a refreshing oriental aesthetic in some parts, while also having an odd, industrial aesthetic in others.

This hallway in particular had wood floors, long shogi doors and walls, and each end of the hall was hidden by an azure darkness.

'_It's like a few different sectors mashed together. The hospital sectors, the capital's small barracks amplified by a hundred… the factories, too.'_

'_I still have so many questions. Like, what're the vulnerabilities in our technology?'_

They traveled down the dim halls, lit only by small, aesthetically pleasing lamps that shone with calm yellow lights.

'_But, this is… so neat. So composed. The halls smell of a kind of clean disuse I've never really—... experienced, more than a couple times. Like sealed rooms, along Lunaria's sectors, that only Eirin was— supposed— to be able to enter. But, this is across the whole of this place…'_

"Udongein." Eirin stated aloud.

...Reisen blinked. "Bless you."

Around them, the halls had odd tables, vases and potted, green plants placed around.

Eirin smiled while they moved down the seemingly endless, vaguely lit hallway. "...Your name should be Udongein."

"...Any _particular_ reason?" Reisen had a brow raised.

"The udonge tree is one which blooms once only three thousand years." Eirin explained. "...Would a name like that not befit a soldier such as yourself? Additionally… I don't believe it was ever recorded, what your name was before you became _Reisen._"

Reisen was a name reserved for the pets of the Watatsuki sisters at the lunar capital. The next time they'd acquire a pet, they too would likely be named Reisen.

"Is it not fitting?" Eirin asked.

...Reisen didn't think so, shaking her head.

"I don't really care about that sorta thing. I've known myself as Reisen all my life. And, I'm not about to let anyone _else_ name me again. Not even you, _brain of the moon._ I'm Reisen now, and everyone's just going to have to live with it."

...Eirin smiled widely. Facing ahead again, she looked down the dark, azure-fogged halls.

"Very well, Udongein. If you don't mind only me calling you as such."

This, Reisen didn't expect as much. "Mmh. Well, if it's a nickname, I guess I won't stop you."

==== Eientei ====

_shoof._ Eirin slid open the white sliding door, and the two stepped into the room.

Unlike the mixed sun the floor of the bamboo forest felt, this room had windows on all sides, and bright, piercing sunlight shone straight in.

All except for the floor were windows, so sun brightly pierced the room at any time of the day.

...Lying on a futon was Princess Kaguya, who was simply staring at the blue sky above, through the room's huge skylight.

"Mmh…" Lazily, she rolled onto her side, looking at the two who entered… "Oh. Heheheh…"

Sitting up, she raised a brow, and smirked. "You had to bring a bodyguard this time, Eirin? I'm hurt."

Eirin snorted. "...This here is Reisen Udongein Inaba. What I've spoken of has come to pass."

"Oh!" Kaguya was suddenly energized.

Floating up from the futon mat, she brushed her long, pink dress free of dust. "Quite some time, since we've received a recruit from the _moon,_ isn't it?"

Eirin closed her eyes, and brought her arms together. "If by 'quite some time', you mean 'never before', indeed."

'_...She's—... really pretty, alright.'_ Reisen had to admit. '_There's not a flaw on her. Still, that's not entirely uncommon amongst lunarians…'_

Kaguya stalked up to Reisen, smirking. "How _excellent._ Their mentor, now their pet? All this place needs next is their kitchen sink. And that _damn sewing machine—_"

"Actually." Reisen turned to Eirin, squinting her eyes a little from the sun. "...I didn't see any other moon bunnies on the way. Am I—... the only one?"

Eirin shook her head. "No. Our outbound accessible units, however, are slim to none. So, outwardly, this place is a ruin to those who locate it, and extremely difficult to breach. There's nothing outside it of value. With such a defense, we may also apprehend those who delve in too deep. I'll show you to where our population dwells, shortly. It may go without saying, but please refrain from getting pregnant."

"The— the fuck." Reisen suddenly grinned at her. "...Sure, I guess. What, you think I went through all of that to get laid?"

"_Definitely."_ Kaguya leaned in towards her, all of a sudden.

Reisen felt both of Kaguya's hands on her chest. "Wh—"

"Did you feel the weight of these, Eirin?" Kaguya's pale face was bright in the sunlight. "My god, my _god._ This bunny's _body._"

"Stop _grabbin' my tits."_ Reisen gave her a hard, smiling look back.

"What if I _don't?"_ Kaguya leered, her face coming closer to Reisen's.

'_She's immortal, right?'_

"No one can touch me." Kaguya was nose-to-nose with Reisen. "...Which means _I _can touch _whoever! _Ha_ha!"_

...Reisen nodded. "Miss Eirin or however— permission to shoot the princess in the face?"

"Permission granted." Eirin returned in monotone.

Kaguya blinked. "Wh— _wait—"_

_BANG._

==== Eientei ====

Kaguya now had a fluffy bandaid on her forehead.

"...That was the fastest _that_ happened." Kaguya had a huge grin, as she sat on her futon again amidst the sun. "The hell'd that bullet even _do_ to me? I'm pretty sure my skull went everywhere!"

'_First time I was ever asked that by someone I just shot in the face! She's taking this awfully well…!'_

"...My metal revolver has exploding bullets." Reisen supplied. "When I shot you, it exploded inside your skull."

'_She's not just immortal— she's—... really fucking immortal, I guess. It only took a few minutes to come back from me nailing her between the eyes. Honestly, I kinda prefer something like this to the nigh-invulnerability of those sisters.'_

"That's awesome." Kaguya smiled at her. "How many heads have you exploded?"

"I— don't go around just shooting people's heads off." Reisen wasn't sure how to answer. "...I shot a youkai on the way in, so I guess like, two?"

'_Gonna be honest, never had a reason to just straight up murder anyone too often before. I'm more used to popping kneecaps. And, since us rabbits are what we are, we'll get better from something like that.'_

"_Wha~t."_ Kaguya was actually surprised. "We gotta change that."

Reisen grinned anxiously. "I— I'd rather we don't."

...That was when a flash of inspiration struck Kaguya's features. "...Oh, but, we _do._ And… I have the _perfect_ _idea,_ who you could practice your aim with."

Eirin shifted towards the wall nearest the door. "I believe it's a little early, for such a thing, princess. That's a substory for another day, yes?"

To Reisen's surprise, Kaguya nodded twice. "...I suppose she _should_ get settled, first. Alright."

Then, she smiled back up at Reisen again. "When you're ready… come to me. And, be _really ready._ It might be the hardest fight of your life."

'_Yeah, about that. ...That does remind me, however…'_

"What made you leave the moon?" Reisen decided to ask her directly.

"Oh? ...Well. It was fucking boring." Kaguya put it plainly. "Also, I was a criminal after becoming immortal. Whoo~ps."

"Even outside the capital sector?" Reisen wondered.

"As if they'd let me _squat_ somewhere else." Kaguya shook her head. "I'm sure you know of their _prisoner,_ right? Chang'e? She was kinda like me, except maybe a little _more_ fucked in the head, somehow. She was kinda fun. Anyway, I was also locked up for a short time. Except, Eirin here is the _master of masters,_ when it comes to exploiting her own creations."

'_...Well— of course I know of Lady Chang'e. She's a folk legend amongst the lunar rabbits, basically. Some time ago, she was apparently our leader or master of sorts. I have respect for the stories I've heard of her—... and, I kinda expect that the reason everything's kinda shit regarding us, is because she's rotting away in jail.'_

Reisen slowly faced Eirin. "Why wasn't she saved, too?"

...Eirin shook her head. "She wouldn't do. If you feel offended, I'm sorry, but it just wasn't something I could afford doing."

'_...Fair enough? I wasn't really offended. Just curious. Not like any of that matters, now.'_

"Oh, yeah. I dunno. I kinda like things the way they _are."_ Kaguya returned to loafing out on her futon. "Mmh. I'm sure I'll get to know her later, when the heat death of the universe rolls around."

'_Kind of a dismal outlook on it, but she's not wrong.'_

The three were silent, for a moment. Reisen took in the almost crystal-like glassiness of Kaguya's room, and its many walls.

"You do anything for fun?" Reisen began to scan the room for different furnishings.

There was scrollery, a feather-tipped pen and a bottle of ink, near a kotatsu along the room's left. '_She's a writer, I guess. Oh— that's a buncha paper.'_

"...I write." Kaguya was unexpectedly plain about her interests. "Sometimes sew. Other times, I spend my days speaking with the rabbitfolk, be they of Earth or Luna. I expect _your_ story was quite interesting, as well. You passed my character examination and everything."

"Your character examination was provoking me into shooting you in the face." Reisen restated plainly.

"You see— no one's ever had the _balls_ to do that, before!" Kaguya beamed from her futon. "Funny thing, that. Most bunnies here are loyal, from what I've done for them, and what Eirin has done. You didn't _blink an eye_ at blowing my skull out."

'_I'm in a pretty done mood regarding royalty in general, right now. I'm surprised that ended as well as it did.'_

"Guess not." Reisen admitted. "I suspected you were immortal, from the rumors. So, I didn't think it'd be a _huge_ consequence."

"Come by later." Kaguya requested. "I'd _love_ to get to know you."

'_...Sure.'_

"...Where would you like me to take you, Udongein?" Moving for the door again, Eirin stopping in the midst of it. "Your quarters? Or, to the bunnies we have stationed here? I will say… there are quite a few."

It was a hard decision. Reisen sort of wanted to be just done with today.

'_Why's this room got so many windows.'_

"...Let me guess." Reisen gazed out of Kaguya's many windows. "I gotta start as a private down here an' shit."

"Hmm? No." Eirin blinked. "You will be our commander. I have more important things to be working on than military strategy. So, I leave unit allocation and defense in your hands. You've had many years to observe and develop your talents, after all. It'd be simply redundant to do anything else."

'_...Oh. Wa— wait, like—'_

"You mean— _the_ commander?" Reisen blinked.

"Yes." Eirin summarized. "...There may be special units with special directives from myself, but I will inform you of them as the need arises. Otherwise, your authority shall be unquestioned. Or rather, it will probably be questioned, and it's up to you to decide how to react to that."

'_...Kinda like moving into a new sector, but cutting all the paperwork bullshit. I'm fine with that.'_

"How about my quarters, then?" Reisen inquired. "Anything fancy?"

...Eirin pursed her lips. "Yes and no?"

'_The heck do you mean.'_

==== Eientei ====

Eirin lead Reisen into the midst of a courtyard, among the walls of the complex.

"You got a name for this whole place?" Reisen wasn't really sure _where_ she was, which, while not a huge problem, might leave her looking dumb later if she didn't find out.

"Eientei." Eirin answered her, walking along the courtyard's stone path. "The House of Eternity."

The courtyard was large, square, and had ponds with tiny bridges on either side. Four paths met in the center as a crossroad of sorts.

Eirin was continuing to one side. "Your room is in one of the hallways along this wall ahead." She gestured along the watchtower-bearing wall ahead. "...No, it is not the watchtower. But, you'll have full access to it, so you could repurpose it if you wished."

'_...Eientei. That's all I know, about where we are. Eientei, Earth. Cool address.'_

...Reading Reisen's somewhat flat look, Eirin's lips curled a little. "I suppose I should be more accurate. You are on Earth. In terms of outside national terms— or, discounting our strange space that is Gensokyo— we are in Japan. Within Japan, we are in Gensokyo, somewhere not registered as a town or city. But, I suppose 'town' fits. And, in Gensokyo… we are in Eientei."

'_Alright, that's better. I kind of know of Japan. It's this huge island we're on.'_

They came up to the door of the wall, and Eirin pushed it open.

In here, there was a sturdy looking hall, fit with plain wood doors.

"Let's go up a few floors. You live somewhat up from here; at least, by default."

So, Reisen followed her up a nearby stairwell. '_Everything feels—... eerily empty.'_

Soon, they were at her door. It looked unassuming, made of wood. To the right, Reisen could see wall. '_Where'd the courtyard go? Wait…'_

There was a window there, with a parallel hallway that connected to the courtyard. Or rather, that parallel hallway was outright exposed to the courtyard. _'Probably why it's behind a window and doors. Exposed to the elements, and all that.'_

_Click._ Reisen pushed open the wood door, and stepped inside.

It was a very basic room. A western bed with no blankets or sheets and one pillow sat across the room, and a bleak streak of sunlight came in from a small wood window in the back.

To the right, there was a rushed job of a wooden desk sitting there, with a beige CRT computer placed ajar atop it.

"...Wow." Reisen nodded at the humble accommodations. "...Fancy in terms of the view, _not fancy_ in terms of the actual livin' space."

"You may decorate as you see fit." Eirin gave the conditions. "You may relocate where you see fit, as well. As long as you use good judgment, that is."

"Yeah, cool." Reisen appreciated those terms. "...Is that a CRT monitor?"

"Yes." Eirin supplied.

'_Damn, we're going way back. I've—... never actually used one of these…'_ She'd only ever heard memes and jests about these. To actually have to use one of these…

'_Oh, god. Good excuse as any to give this room a big upgrade. I'm gonna need a workbench—... aah, damn, I'm gonna have to get all my new tools together, too. With any luck, I won't be moving anywhere and everywhere like an asshole again.'_

"Technology of this era is currently… limited." Eirin supplied. "For now, we're making like Romans. Which is to say, 'roughing it'."

"...So you say." Reisen felt like those massive sprawling halls didn't quite qualify as 'roughing it'. Despite that, the CRT monitor on the crappy table said otherwise. "Gives me a good reason to go out and socialize, at least."

Eirin gave her a nod. "...Very well. Would you like me to leave you alone? Or, would you appreciate talking further?"

..._Shunk._ Finally, Reisen lugged Heavy Claw off her back, and placed it upon the crappy wood desk, aside the CRT monitor.

It was done. It was over.

...Reisen sighed.

'_No going back, it seems.'_ Her body had calmed down some time ago, but she hadn't truly let her body lax until now. Even at this point, she still felt a little on edge; with a life like her's, it'd be a mistake. Especially in a new sector; or, in this case, a new world entirely.

"Y'got any beer?" Introductions and the future could come later. Right now, she wanted to make herself at home in this maze. "...I'm also hungry. We got like—... a _mess hall?_ Cafeteria? _Food pile?"_

"...We have all three, but I'm sure _cafeteria_ is the one that'd most suit you." Eirin smiled again. "Follow me. I'll lead you around, for a few days, perhaps. So you may get started."

Moving to follow Eirin back into the hall, Reisen patted her suit, making sure her revolvers were still there subconsciously. "Guess I wouldn't mind that. You're taking a liking to me awfully quickly."

Eirin's shoes clicked against the plain tiled floor of the strange infinite hallways. "Am I without reason? I suspect you're surprisingly capable… and, without revealing anything, I'd like to add… I may empathize with your situation, just a little."

"...Those sisters?"

"Among other reasons. You're not wrong."

'_...Sounds like a good reason to drink as any. I really ought to get meeting some people. Not sure if I'll ever be able to hit up the moon network again. I mean… maybe telepathy'll work, across distances like this. I think I've heard about that before. But, I'll figure it out later.'_

"How about we _both_ drink." Reisen wondered if Eirin would be so vulnerable…

"How about a party tonight, with the princess, and some notables?" Eirin proposed. "To commemorate this occasion?"

Reisen smirked tiredly. "...If you really wanna kiss-ass that bad, sure. Unless you're planning on the casual kind of party."

"All things considered, that's probably all we have time and resources for, at the moment." Eirin confessed. "...Myself. The princess. The representative of the earth rabbits, Tewi Inaba. Some random soldiers and staff, maybe."

'_Sounds more like drinking night than a party.'_

"Sure." Reisen was comfy with that idea. "When'll that be? Hours-wise."

==== Eientei ====

_Pop!_ Kaguya shot a very, very tiny party popper at Reisen, spreading white and teal paper bits everywhere.

...Reisen took her hand off her sake cup. She'd put it there to prevent the confetti from landing in it.

'_I didn't think we'd do this... just right now, but sure. Also… sake is an interesting choice. All of this architecture, and we just have sake? Unless—... well, the princess is here. Might be for tradition, or something.'_

The turnout so far was even more miniscule than Reisen expected.

As the sun sat, they all sat in a variety of kotatsus within Kaguya's odd glass room. Since it was summer, the temperature was plain and comfortable. Around them, the tips of tall bamboo trees made a sea of shimmering green, and shaded leaves.

'_...The sunset on Earth, though… it's so much wider, and—... I don't know. Pretty much any view in Lunaria was offset by the big walls on the edge of any sector, or the blurry airspaces of other sectors. To be able to see so far, so clearly… it's interesting.'_

Eirin's eyes were closed, her cup of sake already empty. Reisen wasn't sure if she could _get_ drunk.

"So!" That's when a pink-dressed, brown-haired girl rambled up to the kotatsu where the three sluggishly 'celebrated'. _"You're_ the one everyone's talkin' about!"

...Since no one else was looking invested, Reisen perked up, gazing at her plainly. "Am I, now?"

"Yeah!" The brown-haired girl was an earth rabbit; her stature short, and her ears fluffy. "Everyone's all _skeptical_ 'bout this new _commander_ on the block."

Suddenly, she weaved behind Reisen, placing hands on her shoulders. "Y'got boys goin' all like, _'we don't really need a commander just yet, do we'?_ An' ya got the girls sayin' they'd love ta tap ya!"

She switched from Reisen's right ear, to her left, when Reisen tried to look at her. "Or— did I get that all _mixed 'round…?"_

"Fits either way." Reisen smiled, looking to the left—

The stout bunny had Asclepius to Reisen's face. "What's _this?"_

Reisen crosses her eyes at the barrel, before raising a brow, meeting her gaze. "A gun."

"Ooh? A _gun…?"_ The bunny smiled widely, tilting her head as she looked along it. "Awh, like a _water gun?_ Can I shoot you?"

"You _could._" Reisen monotoned. "Should you?"

The bunny grinned wickedly, holding the barrel closer. _"Yes."_

...Reisen blinked at her, as she kept it aimed.

"_Bang!"_ She yelled.

"You really think…" Reisen's gaze was plain. "That I would believe, that someone would just come up out of nowhere, and shoot me in front of—"

_BANG._ She shot the gun.

_CRACK! _The floor behind Reisen shook, many boards shattering into wood fragments, a two-by-two meter hole left behind Eirin and Reisen.

Reisen's body exploded with energy, as she slid out of her seat. '_Are you fucking—'_

"_Tewi!"_ Kaguya suddenly slid out from her seat, too. "That's my _floor,_ you _raghead!"_

"Dude!" Tewi beamed down at Asclepius. "Why the fuck's the gun _that_ strong!?"

...As Kaguya slowly fought to her legs and seethed down at her, Tewi aimed the pistol at her and spoke. "Where do ya think _you're_ goin', buster—"

_BANG!_ Reisen shot the Heavy Claw pistol at Asclepius.

_CLING!_ It flew from Tewi's hand. "Wh—"

_WOOSH!_ Reisen was next to her in an instant, leg raised and thrusted directly for Tewi's head.

Tewi leaned back, and used her hands to stop from falling over. "Ho~h! Yer sharp…!"

...Looking down at the kotatsu, Reisen had an idea. '_The drinks are all on Eirin, right…?'_

Still standing in mid-kick posture, Reisen casually took a cup of sake from the close kotatsu, and leaned over Tewi.

_splish._ She poured it on Tewi's face.

...Smiling, Tewi began to lick her lips. "Y'know—... I've always said, 'I love booze so much I could bathe in it'."

"You never say that!" Kaguya stomped over. "You're gonna fix my damn floor! Be lucky you didn't shoot the _glass,_ or you'd _be_ in the next batch of glass!"

"Pft— hehehe!"

...Slowly, Reisen brought her leg back—

_thud._ Tewi flopped onto her own ass. "Unh."

_whunk._ Kaguya punted her in the gut. "_Uu- uh!"_

...Nodding vaguely, Reisen returned to the kotatsu, sitting under it.

"That's the Earth rabbit representative." Eirin supplied. "Tewi Inaba."

"...She always this much of a handful?" Reisen looked for the sake bottle, and another cup.

"Generally." Eirin admitted. "...I _believe_ she means well."

Kaguya huffed, sliding back under the kotatsu. "She's _funny—_ but sometimes, she's a complete fuckin' _shithead._ Tewi— when we're done here, round up some of your fuckin'— _idiots,_ and get 'em to make a _piece of wood._"

"A— _piece of wood…?"_ Raising from the floor, wiping sake from her face, Tewi grinned. "Oh, I'll get the idiots ta get ya a _piece 'a wood_ alright."

"I'm not gonna be happy until you get me a new carpenter."

"You want a _carpenter?_ Aww. Well— if I send some cuties by the human village—"

"Wh—... while that'd _technically _satisfy my request— I'd skin you if you did! We'd get found out for sure!"

...Tewi beamed over at Reisen. "Hey— Sarge, you got a stereo!?"

"...No." Reisen stated definitively.

Kaguya began to grin. "I swear to fuck— if you play anymore _stupid sea shanties…"_

'_Se— sea shanties. What the fuck. We're in Japan. We're in the woods...!'_

_Shoof._ Then, the door to the room opened again.

A lunar rabbit with short, earth green hair sauntered in. She had a black cloth band around her right eye, and a standard suit, like the kind Reisen saw on general operations rabbits on the moon.

"Hey, hey, he~y." She gave everyone a wave. "...Oo~h. Small crowd, t'day."

"...Oh, look." Tewi gave her a comparatively calm smile, to all her previous expressions. "It's a character irrelevant to the plot."

...The rabbit blinked her one red eye back. "Ahah. Don't sell yourself short, there."

When Reisen flicked her eyes over Kaguya again, she had a wry smirk at the exchange. '_They probably get along better than I thought.'_

The dark green-haired bunny went to one of the various other kotatsus around the area. There were five total, and Reisen and her company only used up one, effectively.

Every kotatsu already had a few bottles of sake set up. Also, there were baskets of pretzels placed next to the bottles.

'_Wonder if that bunny's eyepatch-... eye cloth bandana thing, is actually for a reason. I've tangled with edgelords before.'_

"Anywa~y." Tewi smiled at Reisen. "The hell was your name again? Sergeant shooter person?"

"I'm Reisen, Inaba."

Eyes lightning up, Tewi tilted her head back. "Oo~h. You _related?"_

'_Oh. Right. Tewi Inaba.'_

"...I don't think so?" Reisen wasn't sure.

"Earth and lunar rabbits share a common root." Eirin elucidated, since she was there. "While the moon beared inherent species of rabbit, I also brought rabbits from Earth as I went on to found Lunaria. Cross-breeding ensued. It was largely unsuccessful, until the technology improved, and our… _improvements_ to both allowed for the final, powerful and moderately intelligent pool of lunar rabbits you may find there today."

'_...And, I suspect she wouldn't have been happy if Yorihime undid some of that just for stronger soldiers.'_

Tewi snorted. "Ah, right. So you _smashed their DNA together_, until it worked. Ma~n. Wonder how many failed experiments came from _that._"

...Eirin smiled. "Few to none, if you don't remember our last discussion. I try not to deal in probabilities."

"There were at least a couple, right?" Tewi smiled wider.

"Mistakes _do_ happen." Eirin summarized. "Don't go acting innocent, either. Youkai rabbits don't so simply come from time and peace."

"Yeah, yeah. I heard it all before." Tewi reached for the bottle of sake. "So, what's the story, _Reisen?_ You a mass murderer, or somethin'? Genocide? Horrible science? Gun porn?"

"...Nothing nearly as _impressive."_ Reisen's expression was slightly jaded. "I toured the moon. Then, I got kicked out. Place kinda sucked. I _do_ still have some good memories."

Tewi thought on that, as she poured herself a cup. "...Yeah. I mean— me an' Eirin could be like, manga villains. Your story makes you sound like just some somebody."

"Hmm~..." Kaguya had a look that somehow filled Reisen with some kind of unease. "You kno~w. I have a feeling there's more to it than _that._ Maybe one day I'll write your story."

"Yeah, sure." Reisen doubted that. She hadn't ever read Kaguya's stuff, but she didn't care for texts too much.

"Really." Kaguya insisted. "Soldier stories can be kinda interesting, you know. And, sometimes _boring,_ but… they have a certain _way_ they carry themselves."

"I… I don't think it ended like a conventional one." Reisen compared her last day— or perhaps day and a half— of what she experienced, to what she's seen in media… "You might have something if you went back a couple of months. Or, even years."

"...Huh." Kaguya didn't have much to say about that, but she looked interested.

More lunar bunnies seemed to be filing in, minding the hole in the floor occasionally…

"Oh! He~y!" A bubbly, pink-haired lunar bunny girl bounced up to the kotatsu where Reisen was. "You're the new commander! Happy Birthday!"

Reisen looked up at the girl with neat, long pink hair. "...Wh—"

_click._ The girl placed a big cake with sprinkles on it on the kotatsu. "Ya~y!"

'_The fuck. Okay…? I— guess I don't mind, but I never really liked cake.'_

"Tha— thanks…" Reisen wasn't at first sure what to do with it, but she supposed she should thank the bunny for the trouble.

'_It's also not my birthday.'_

_Thump, thump, thump._ A tall bunny guy with unremarkably plain but orange hair stomped past their kotatsu.

...Searching the sunset, Reisen looked up, and saw the moon in the evening sky. '_...So that's how it looks from Earth. So small. So—... grey.'_

_Shoof._ Kaguya slid the cake closer. "Anyone have a _knife—"_

_CLACK._ Eirin's hand was now on the kotatsu, a scalpel held gingerly between two fingers.

_shunk._ The cake split in half, cut with surgical precision. "Ooh!" Kaguya beamed down at it.

_Clack._ Someone placed Asclepius back on the table. It was the orange-haired guy. "Someone dropped this."

Tewi pointed at Reisen. "She did it!"

'_...Why even— blame me.'_

_Click._ He sat it down on the kotatsu, and proceeded off without a word.

"...I don't think we have _plates._" Kaguya realized, once the cake was in eight pieces.

Tewi grinned. "You can fold a pizza box into plates!"

"Good fucking thing we don't _have_ a pizza box."

...At that, Tewi looked at Reisen again. "Quick, use your bullets to make plates!"

"Sure." Reisen played along. "How."

...Tewi shook her head with accelerating pace, before holding her arms out. "That's _yer_ job to figure out, soldier-girl!"

"We can use _you_ as a plate, if that works." Reisen leaned into the kotatsu tiredly…

...Tewi held a hand to her own mouth. "Lewd."

"Yeah. It is." Reisen wasn't going to back down. "But, food-play fetishes are more messy and boring than you think."

"...And how'd _you_ know?" Tewi grinned wider. "Got somethin' to share wit' us?"

"I've seen too much." Reisen shook her head, recalling the reproduction sector on the moon…

...Kaguya gave her a small look. "Like what? Ooh— are you actually a sex fanatic!?"

"Sex _lunatic."_ Tewi corrected. "C'mon— stick to the theme!"

Kaguya snorted. "Nn— _fuck_ you."

'_...We're probably gonna get along better than I think. These three, they've got some kind of history. They're not quite just the sort of hooligan I'm used to.'_

As Reisen sipped her sake, she thought back to earlier today. The violence and the confusion, and the raw essence of displacement, which had almost become a familiar comfort at this point.

She felt excited, in a way. But, she also felt cynical towards it. '_We'll see just how temporary this is. I feel like this was a big change, and I'm kinda out of sorts, but I've still got this gut feeling that things are… more of the same than I think.'_

'_House of Eternity? We'll see about that.'_

Reisen felt at her suit, and the revolver in her pocket.

She was Reisen, leader of Lunaria's war machines. She'd clambered through the jaws of Lunaria's society, every intricate pipe and interface of its defense forces and sectors, and lived to tell the tale.

Closing her eyes amidst the rising stars, and the wild twilight of Gensokyo's green frontier, Reisen exhaled.

'_...Maybe I'll finally get a full night's sleep, tonight. I'm going to miss modern computers.'_

"So." Kaguya smiled up at Reisen. "On a scale of one to bajillion, how fucked do you think the moon is? Personally, I'd say, _pretty fucked._"

Reisen was roused from her tired, somewhat drained thinking.

...Then, after thinking, she found her answer.

"They'll move on from this. They'll emerge from this. The rabbits, they'll ignore the dreadful precedent set forth by this. If anything, they'll be _empowered_ by this.

"As for the moon itself…" Reisen tilted her head around. "I don't know. Not sure if I care. As long as the sectors do alright, then I'm sure they'll stand."

'_I'm sure everyone on the moon knows my face, now.'_

"I just hope they've learned a lesson, or two." As she referred to the sisters, Reisen stared down at her sake, looking doubtful. "But, I'm sure they haven't. I'm sure their realizations— if any— are superficial. And when that comes and goes, I just hope they remember my face. I hope they remember it, when every death is repaid."

'_Not literal death, even. The death of potential, the death of individual comfort and trust. The death of the ability of people to be people, in general security.'_

...Tewi leaned her head back. "So. You at least make whatever happened _sound_ interesting. Makes me glad I ain't on the moon."

Kaguya looked idle. "I wonder what you even _did._ Escape, surely. But, Eirin's words of you were always needlessly cryptic and foreshadowing, without substance. No offense to her, of course. She surely had reasons."

...Reisen's red eyes met Kaguya's brown ones. "I fought Yorihime."

'_I wonder which of us is the real war machine.'_

Sword and tradition against gun and pragmatism. Raw power and will against the immense effort of movement and the intricacy of time-built weapons.

Reisen knew she had to act. She did what was necessary of herself, for her interests, and survival. That was what life had served her.

Yorihime acted with dead certainty, like she were possessed. Her interests may have made little sense, but she knew herself perhaps too well. She wasn't intentionally malicious. What seemed the most obvious to her was simply way, way more ignorant and intrusive than Reisen's way of life.

'_Of course, she sees me the exact same way, I'm sure._

'_But, there's one big difference. My judgment is that, her ignorant homicide and her shallow obsession with things that appeal to her… they shouldn't go any further. She doesn't just step on my interests. She steps on everyone's. That steps on everyone, period. And, when she ruins lives and people, she'd be too dumb and happy to notice.'_

'_She finds me, in particular, ignorant of her interests. That's why it was all about me and her, to her. Meanwhile, I was fighting for everyone but her. _

'_To her, it's all because I can't see her grand design, her personal ambitions, and her self-contained idea of what a nation should be. But, that's the extent of it for her. The problem was so simply, that I just don't see her side. That's it._

'_All of that couldn't have meant shit to me, even though I saw dead-on what she wanted. She made no attempt to empathize. She continued on like a machine._

'_I fought for all the sectors that ever treated me with culture and kindness. My trip may have been shit in some ways, but I'd never go back in time, and I'd never say 'I wish I grew up different'. I wouldn't be me. But, Yorihime wishes I'd thought and said that._

'_I'll never get along with someone so fucking stupid. She and her holier-than-thou ways can go sink to the very bottom of hell. They shall not come to pass._

'_Because I'm a zealous, target-centered machine, too. I just see everyone's interests, and empathize. I might not care all the time, but in the face of such foolish— absolute retardation— I just—...'_

Reisen sighed.

'_We're both machines in our own ways, I guess.'_

Reisen gazed over Tewi, Eirin and Kaguya, and the small gathering of rabbits filling in around them...

'_I'm the terror of Lunaria. Reisen Inaba.'_ She took pride in her own ways. _'...For however long we're still down here, with this strange stronghold, I'll be the best damn commander in the galaxy.'_

'_And, when Yorihime comes, I'll be there. On the fields of Earth, tank treading, guns in hand. I'll build us up as much as I possibly can.'_

'_It all starts at zero. Time to put what I learned to the test.'_

This was the real beginning of Reisen. It all started from here.

...Kaguya raised her hands, to call out into them. "_Earth to bunny~!_ Stop zoning out! How'd the fight _go?_ Did you actually managed to hurt her!?"

...Finally taken from her thoughts, Reisen inhaled. "Ri— right. So—"

≡ _Gensokyo ≡_

...Reisen's eyes stopped glowing.

Sanae worked some wax out of her right ear, blinking repeatedly. "Wh—... oh. Holy—... holy _shit. _That was like watching a movie!"

"...Woh—... wow." Youmu looked around, taking in the dim, orange lamps lit up around the shrine, again.

No time had passed since their casual evening began. Or rather, a miniscule amount of time passed.

...Reimu rubbed her eyes. "That— _eye thing_ is seriously overpowered…"

Marisa exhaled. "...Ho~h, da~mn. That eye thing is _damn _convenient fer telling stories!"

'_...It's been some time, since I remembered that. Things have come a long way, since then…'_ Reisen remembered all the guns she'd built, now.

"That—... really is overwhelmingly convenient." Sakuya looked over herself again, seeming somehow out of sorts.

Youmu looked down at her sake, before looking down. "...No wonder you have a thing against swords."

"The moonbitches are such shit." Reimu folded her arms. "Now I'm mad."

"Awh." Marisa gave her an endeared look, before grinning. "That moon _tech,_ though! Wasn't the saying like… 'any technology sufficiently advanced, is indistinguishable from magic'?"

"Yeah!" Sanae gave her a single, big nod. "But, I could recognize some stuff. Why didn't Eientei have the moon's type of computers, back then?"

...Reisen furrowed her brows a little at the idea. "Such systems would still be compatible with the moon's networks, and easy to trace. We had to give all such technology up, and adapt— albeit at a slightly accelerated rate— to the Earth's technology. We had CRT computers well before they were a big thing on the outside. Not that they did a lot of good."

Youmu leaned closer, curious. "Did you ever fight Yorihime again?"

After a slight pause, Reisen shook her head. "...Not really. She and Toyohime visited, once. They were stupid and annoying… but, at that time, they seemed to have abandoned Earth conquest."

"Good thing, too." Reimu nodded. "Or we would've all annihilated them. You're not the only one who's been getting stronger."

'_...So you say, but… I don't know. Maybe we could think up a creative, dirty strategy. Master would have to help with Toyohime, however. Only beings of a certain walk of existence may circumvent her… weirdness. Not even Yorihime is exempt inherently.'_

"That part of the story where I saw from her perspective was actually something she told me, when she visited." Reisen revealed. "She didn't entirely agree with me _or_ Eirin… but, she also feared for Lunaria, and her 'family'. If it could be called a family. So, she heeded Eirin's 'warning'. Crazy bitch."

Youmu seemed displaced. "...She really gives tradition a bad name. There should still be a _logic_ to how things happen. At least—... that's what _I_ believe."

Reisen grinned. "Logic? The hell's that? They're too busy fucking each other's kids. I heard 'bout it while on tour, Yorihime's got a thing for one of Toyohime's sons. Or, maybe just _son_. I forget."

'_Not that there isn't any inbreeding going on amongst the rabbits, but they actually aren't affected by genetic defection from such things. I mean—... 'cause they're fucking rabbits. I don't know how it affects the lunarians, bu~t… if Yorihime is any indication, I mean...'_

"Uh oh." Sanae gained a big grin at that. "That's, um…!"

"...For some reason, I'm reminded of Europe." Sakuya jabbed at her vague area of origin. "That was some time ago, however…"

"That story _really_ frustrates me!" Youmu suddenly became uppity. "There's— _so much more—_ than— _nnh!"_

"She done did swords _dirty!"_ Holding up her arm, Marisa beamed. "You gotta go kick her ass, Youmu! S'time for a training montage!"

"...I— I'm not sure about that." Youmu became sheepish, looking down at Heavy Claw on the kotatsu. "But— if blows ever came to blows… I _really_ wouldn't mind trying my luck."

"...Why not relay _those_ details with hypnotism or illusions, as well?" Sakuya wondered.

Reisen looked at her plainly. "Anything I relay like that, I gotta sit through myself. Good way of freshening up memories, on one hand. On another, retelling it a _lot_ can get… unpleasant. Individual details are best expressed through words, since it saves everyone the context, and mental stress. Not that it's much stress, but yeah."

Intuiting what she meant, Sakuya smiled slightly. "I get what you mean. Duration and attention, and all of that."

...Sanae gave Sakuya a wry look. "When'd _you_ get here. I don't remember you being here…!"

Sakuya held up her wine. "I came with wine, when the story was starting."

Reimu held up her wine-filled drinking cup. "Mmh."

...As the girls all looked back down at their drinks, Reisen resumed examining Heavy Claw, looking over its sides again. _'I lost where I was.'_

"Ma~n." Sanae scratched the back of her own head… "That kinda thing makes me wish I could share _my_ story in detail, like that. 'Cause like… I have a lot I wanna talk about!"

"We gotta go back to the moon and find Apollo!" Marisa proposed. "It's gotta be bouncin' around the rocks somewhere!"

'_...Yorihime actually brought it back to me, when she came by. Since guns aren't her thing, there was no way she wanted to hold onto it. Then, Kaguya told me it looked kinda like the Tigris Prime from Warframe. At this point, Apollo feels… while it's a very, very well-rounded all-purpose gun, it's also not super amazing in any situation. It doesn't have any really special effects, either.'_

"Reisen." Youmu turned to face her.

...Reisen faced her. "Mmm?"

"Was that what turned you away from swords? Or…?"

The question seemed kind of silly, to Reisen. "More like I was never someone who'd like swords and tradition in the first place. Blame my upbringing. Don't you see guns the same way?"

"...Yeah." Youmu admitted. "How weird. Re— regardless, your story was really cool, Reisen."

"...Thanks."

As the girls devolved into idle chatter, Reisen locked her gaze on Heavy Claw again.

'_...1969 was a good year.'_ Reisen didn't look back with animosity. '_That was all… pretty seriously nostalgic. It seems like it was so long ago, now.'_ In outside terms, it would now be the year 2015.

'_BunnyFlufferNetwork, chatting, working on my first big gun… that stressful adventure. Still, I don't think I'd go back for anything.'_

She felt her suit, where the pistol for Heavy Claw was still on her, and picked up the towel cloth to start polishing the metal.

'_Anyway, if anyone ever wonders why I don't say much, it's because I'm thinking about shit. ...S'that simple__.'_


End file.
